With the uncertainty we live in today, women need to take action to secure their financial benefits for a better tomorrow.

When it comes to retirement, women face significant challenges. What you already may know is that women tend to live longer than men. What you probably do not know is that women may receive lower Social Security benefits because they often have lower lifetime earnings than men. The inevitable consequence is the harsh reality of reaching retirement with smaller pensions and assets than their male counterparts.

For this reason, as a woman, you need to strategize early!

Planning your Social Security strategy is vital to improve your quality of life and secure your comfortable retirement. Learning how to maximize your Social Security benefits can be life-changing.

About 178 million people work and pay Social Security taxes and 64 million people receive monthly Social Security benefits. Even if you work, have worked, or never worked, you must be aware of ways to significantly optimize your benefits, because Social Security is the key for a secure retirement.

Wait longer to claim your Social Security benefits.

This may sound unusual; everyone prefers receiving money soon rather than later!

However, if you consider delaying the claim of your benefits you will receive a “delayed retirement credit”, which is greater than what you would typically receive.

In fact, Social Security will increase your payouts by 8-percent annually, multiply by the year you waited to claim your benefits until you reach age 70 (which is the maximum age for boosting benefits).

There is no marriage penalty.

You are married and you want to claim your own Social Security benefits? No problem. There is no limit to benefits paid to a married couple. On the contrary, the opportunities to increase your benefits rise!

In a married couple, each party is entitled to get its own Social Security benefits. If each spouse has worked and earned enough credit, they will receive their own Social Security retirement benefits.

What if you are divorced?

If you were married for at least 10 years, now you are divorced and unmarried, you are eligible on your ex’s Social Security record. There is 50% of your ex’s Social Security benefits that you are able to claim.

You should also know that any benefits paid to a divorced spouse do not reduce payments made to your ex or any payments due to your ex’s current spouse.

What if you are a widow?

You are entitled to benefits even in unpleasant circumstances. If you were married for at least 9 months and your spouse passed away, you may claim a survivor benefit at age 60, or older, based on the work record of your deceased spouse. The benefits you will receive may vary, it depends on your age and on the amount your deceased spouse was entitled to at the time of death.

What if you are married?

• If you are a working wife reaching retirement age, you will most likely receive your own Social Security benefits because it will be greater than one-third to one-half of your spouse’s rate.
• If you are not a working wife, you are eligible for between one-third and one-half of your spouse’s Social Security benefit.
• If you are a spouse, you are eligible for both yours and your spouse’s work record. In fact, you will get the benefits who pay the higher rate.

As we mentioned earlier, women outlive their male counterparts by nearly 5 years and generally spend less years in the workforce. Consequently, they have typically earned less income than man. For these reasons, Social Security operates as an important protection for women against economic insecurity in old age:

• 47 percent of total income arrives from Social Security for unmarried women.
• Just 34 percent of total income arrives from Social Security for unmarried men.

Did you know that 55% of the people receiving Social Security benefits are women?

As you can see, Social Security definitely plays a pivotal role in providing economic security for women. Over the years, the level of Social Security protection for women has strengthened. However, Social Security could be quite a complex topic, but with the right financial advisor, you can maximize your benefits and stop living in financial stress.

At CKS Summit Group we can help you achieve your dream retirement and turn those challenges into great opportunities. Contact us here today to set up your complimentary strategy session.