Most people approaching retirement plan to rely on Social Security payments for at least part of their retirement income, and they also realize that the longer they wait to claim those benefits, the bigger their monthly Social Security check will be. And, thanks to inflation, that payment will be even bigger starting in 2023, when the average Social Security payment gets a cost of living adjustment of more than $140.
There’s just one problem: What if you can’t afford to wait?
There’s a nifty technique that can help create a Social Security bridge strategy that allows them the ability to wait to draw down on their Social Security.
For more help planning a Social Security bridge strategy in the particularly complicated environment, consider matching with a financial advisor.
What Is a Social Security Bridge Strategy?
Over all, the monthly Social Security benefit amount increases by 8% for every year you wait to claim benefits. For example, the maximum benefit amount in 2022 for a 62-year-old early retiree is $2,364. At the full retirement age of 66, the benefit rises to $3,240 and at age 70 the payment maxes out at $4,194. The difference between collecting at the full retirement and waiting until age 70 comes out to more than $11,000 a year.
People who need to retire at 66 or even 62 don’t need to miss out on the higher payments if they can find another source of income to tide them over until their maximum benefit payment kicks in. For some fortunate people, this kind of
