These are the three lesser-known Social Security rules that can raise or lower your benefits

Social Security payments can help finance life after retirement, especially if your savings are not enough to live on.

According to personal finance website GOBankingRates, baby boomers have not saved enough for a comfortable retirement.

The median savings of this age group is $202,000, and 43% of 55 to 65-year-olds had no retirement savings at all in 2022, the site reports.

Given that your savings might not be enough to live on, it is advisable to be familiar with Social Security rules to make sure you get the maximum benefit amount possible.

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These are the three lesser-known Social Security rules that can raise or lower your benefits

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind to ensure you receive a bigger monthly check.

Working for at least 35 years will increase your benefit

Although you are eligible to receive benefits after working for at least 10 years, the amount you receive will be computed by averaging your salary for the 35 years where you earned the most.

If you paid Social Security taxes for less than this period, zeros will be inputted to arrive at the average, considerably cutting your monthly retirement check.

Many workers do not know that working for less than 35 years will reduce your benefit. To make sure you get a bigger amount, work for more than this length of time, especially since you are likely to earn a bigger salary as you get older.

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Retiring early will fix your benefit amount at the rate for that age

Full retirement age is set at 67 years old for people who were born in 1960 or later. This means you can only receive 100% of your benefit if you retire at that age.

Some people begin claiming Social Security at age 62, the minimum retirement age, when benefits are up to 30% less than what you would receive at the full retirement age of 67.

According to a study by the Nationwide Retirement Institute, a little less than half of adult Americans believe early retirees will receive the full benefit once they reach 67.

This is not the case, because the benefit amount you receive will not change from the moment you file for retirement. This means the amount you receive at age 62 to 66 will remain that way permanently.

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You can change your mind about retiring within a year of claiming

The benefit you receive when you retire is typically fixed for life at the time you start claiming it, not including cost-of-living adjustments.

However, if you change your mind about early retirement, you can request a do-over and reset the retirement benefit to a higher amount once you do retire in the future.

You must make the decision to go back to work within 12 months of filing for retirement, as you only have a year to withdraw your application. You will need to pay back what you’ve received, but you’ll get bigger checks by the time you truly decide to go into retirement.