The standard advice suggests that Americans won ’ t get a second chance to decide when to start taking their Social Security benefits , but there are actually two things clients can do over : They can suspend their benefits to a later date or withdraw the benefit — two strategies that can end up netting them substantially higher payouts per month , says Keil , a retirement-focused advisor in the Milwaukee area who manages $ 125 million .

Recently , Keil had a client who inherited $ 25,000 from his mother and wanted to know where he could invest the money for the best return .

“ He had just filed for Social Security about 10 months earlier , which was paying

“ I just think that Social Security maximizing is something you should always consider , even if the client has already filed .”

— Jeremy Keil him a benefit of $ 2,500 per month . We withdrew the payment , repaid the $ 25,000 and had him reapply . The next month he started getting almost $ 200 a month more , which will last as long as he or his wife is alive . Not a bad way to invest mom ’ s inheritance ,” says Keil , whose clients have an average age of 64 .

In another instance , Keil had one client who was on Social Security Disability Insurance , which automatically switched to the program ’ s retirement benefit when the client reached age 67 . “ We did the math and showed him that he , and especially his younger spouse , would come out ahead 90 % of the time by suspending his retirement benefit , taking it later — likely at 70 — and drawing down his taxable traditional IRA money to live on now ,” Keil says .

In addition to increasing the client ’ s monthly benefit in the future , Keil says he set up the client and the wife “ for a much more stable , lower-tax Social Security benefit in the future .”

One of the easiest ways for clients to maximize Social Security benefits , of course , is to simply wait and file at age 70 , when the monthly benefit tops out .

But in some cases , clients who have already filed can still earn up to an 8 % annual increase in benefits by applying for a simple do-over — either a suspension or a withdrawal of benefits , says Keil , who holds a National Social Security Advisor Certificate .

“ I just think that Social Security maximizing is something you should always consider , even if the client has already filed ,” Keil says .

How To Qualify

A suspension of benefits is only available if a client filed for early benefits and is now above full retirement age , but not yet 70 years old . However , if a client wants to withdraw benefits , they are only able to do so if

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