Social Security Tips

Good-News Secrets

* There is no advantage to waiting past 70 to take your retirement benefit or past full retirement age to take spousal or widow(er) benefits.

* Already collecting? Consider suspending and restarting your benefits later.

* Working longer may mean higher benefits for you and your family.

* Your parents may be entitled to survivor benefits.

* Divorced? Think before remarrying.

* Multiple marriages? Multiple benefit choices.

* Delaying retirement benefits can help your survivors.

Bad-News Gotchas

* If you take two benefits at once, you lose one of the two.

* Get divorced a day too early and you could lose tens of thousands of dollars in divorced spousal and divorced widow(er) benefits.

* If you make a mistake in your retirement benefit filing decision and wait a day too long to fix it, too bad. You’re stuck.

* Depending on their level and your other income, 50 to 85 percent of your Social Security benefits may be subject to federal income taxation.

* Social Security can change its rules.