The One Social Security Milestone I'm Tracking (And Why You Should Too)

I am not going to be claiming Social Security for a long time. Despite the fact that retirement is still probably a few decades away for me, there is one Social Security milestone I am paying attention to right now, and that I will continue to focus on for my entire career before retirement.

Here's the Social Security detail I am focusing on, along with some tips on why you may want to do the same.

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I'm carefully tracking this Social Security milestone

One of the key details I'm tracking related to my Social Security benefits is how many years I have worked. I'm focused on this number because I didn't start working full-time until I was in my mid-20s after law school, and I hope to retire a little early. I also had a few years where I worked only part-time hours because I had two babies.

This matters because your Social Security benefits are calculated based on your average wages over your highest 35 years of earnings. If I work fewer than 35 years, some years of $0 wages will be factored into my benefits calculation. And if I work exactly 35 years, then those years when I earned less, since I worked part-time while taking care of my kids, will also be counted when my benefits are calculated.

Ideally, I want to make sure I have 35 years of the highest possible earnings included in my benefits calculation. This will allow me to get the maximum Social Security check possible without my benefits being reduced due to a short work history.

What are your options if you won't get 35 years of work in?

My work history, with some part-time years and a delayed start, isn't entirely unusual. Many people don't work a full 35 years at their peak earning potential.

If that's your situation, you can track the number of years you've worked at peak earnings and consider working longer, if possible. If that's not something you can, or want to do, you can also explore whether you may be able to get spousal benefits that are larger than your retirement checks.

Spousal benefits can equal up to 50% of the higher-earning spouse's standard benefit. So if your husband or wife had more consistently higher earnings, you may be able to get more money by claiming benefits on their work record instead.

The important thing is to understand how the benefits formula works, to track your years of work and make an informed decision about when to retire based on that formula -- and to explore all your options for Social Security benefits so you get the most income possible from this important retirement income source.

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