Social Security is part of nearly every American’s life in retirement, if not sooner. If you’re like most people, you’re aware that when you start collecting retirement benefits affects how much money you get, but you’re not sure what that means for you. Armed with answers to some key questions, you can get the most out of your Social Security retirement benefits.

Copyright © 2020 AARP. Selecting the right time to begin Social Security benefits is a personal matter. Only you know what makes sense for your family. But you should keep in mind some key points when you make this critical choice: Make sure that you know when you qualify for full benefits, but remember, you have broad discretion about when to claim.

Copyright © 2020 by AARP. All rights reserved.Something about Social Security stirs the popular imagination. Rumors and phony stories have attached themselves to the program from the start. Sometimes you can identify the grain of truth that sprouts into a tall tale. Other times you can’t.Before Social Security got off the ground in the 1930s, newspapers in the Hearst chain spread the story that people would have to wear dog tags stamped with their Social Security numbers.

Copyright © 2015 AARPAfter you figure out your full retirement age, you can get a ballpark idea of your monthly benefit. Currently, the average retirement benefit is about $1,328 per month (in January 2015), but benefits go much higher, depending on your earnings history and when you begin collecting. It’s easy to get at least a rough estimate of your retirement benefits.

Copyright © 2020 AARPSocial Security faces a shortfall. To pay benefits, Social Security will increasingly rely on its trust funds because revenues from the payroll tax aren’t sufficient. After about 2035, when the trust funds are exhausted, the program is projected to have enough income to cover about 80 percent of promised benefits.

Copyright © 2020 AARP.A growing number of Americans owe income tax on part of their Social Security benefits. You typically won’t owe income taxes on your benefits if they represent all of your income. But significant income from work, investments or a pension — on top of Social Security — could be an income-tax liability.

In the course of a year, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has tens of millions of direct contacts with the public, in field offices and over the phone. These contacts range from simple queries for information to emotionally charged concerns about benefits that can have a huge impact on a person’s monthly income.