You hope to retire comfortably someday, but saving money on your own for retirement can be tough to pull off while also juggling your current expenses. You’ll likely have Social Security checks to fall back on, but these may not go as far as you’d think. The average monthly benefit for retired workers was just $1,981 per month as of February 2025.

You don’t have to settle for the average, though. The following three moves could help you take home tens or even hundreds of dollars more per month.

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1. Work at least 35 years before applying for benefits

The Social Security benefit formula bases your checks on your average monthly earnings, indexed for inflation, over your 35 highest-earning years. This is known as your average indexed monthly earnings (AIME).

You can still qualify for benefits with a shorter work history, but signing up before you’ve logged 35 years in the workforce will permanently reduce your checks. The Social Security Administration will add zero-income years to your calculation, which significantly lowers your AIME — and your benefit.

If you can work longer than 35 years, doing so often works in your favor. Many people earn more later in their careers than they did when they were young. After you pass the 35-year mark, your more recent, higher-earning years begin to replace your earlier, lower-earning years in your benefit calculation, raising your AIME.

2. Earn as much as possible during your working years

Since your Social Security benefits are based on your earnings history, anything you do to increase your income today could boost your monthly checks. This includes negotiating a raise, finding a better-paying job, or starting a side hustle.

The only people this tip won’t work for are those who already earn more than the Social Security taxable wage base. This is $176,100 in 2025. Income over this amount isn’t subject to Social Security payroll tax, so it won’t help you increase your benefit. Keep in mind that the taxable wage base goes up a little each year.

3. Choose your claiming age carefully

You must apply for Social Security at what’s known as your full retirement age (FRA) if you hope to claim the full benefit you’re entitled to based on your work history. Your FRA varies by birth year, but it’s 67 for most people today.

You’re allowed to sign up as early as 62, but claiming before your FRA shrinks your checks. You lose 5/9 of 1% per month for up to 36 months of early claiming and 5/12 of 1% per month thereafter. Those with FRAs of 67 who apply immediately at 62 reduce their checks by 30%. That’s enough to drop the $1,981 average benefit to $1,387 per month — nearly $600 less.

You also have the option to delay benefits past your FRA. Your checks will continue to grow by 2/3 of 1% per month until you qualify for your maximum benefit at 70. There is no incentive to delay Social Security beyond this age.

Generally, you can get a larger lifetime benefit by delaying Social Security if you can afford to do so and you expect to live into your 80s or beyond. But those who have little personal savings and those with short life expectancies may get the greatest benefit from applying early.

You can create a my Social Security account to explore the benefits you could be entitled to at various claiming ages based on your earnings history to date. You can also play around with different income projections if you think this would better help you estimate what kind of benefit you’ll receive in retirement.

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