Why 2 Retirees With the Same Work History Can Get Completely Different Social Security Checks
If you have the same work history as someone else, you may assume your benefits would be the same -- but that's not necessarily true.
Why 2 Retirees With the Same Work History Can Get Completely Different Social Security Checks
Overview
The Social Security benefits formula bases your benefits on average wages earned during the course of your career. Specifically, you get benefits based on a percentage of your highest 35 years of earnings after adjusting for inflation.
Given that the benefits formula is based on how much money you make, you might assume that two retirees with the same work history would have the same benefits. But that's not necessarily true. One person could receive over $1,000 more than the other in certain circumstances.
Details
That's because another factor makes a major impact on how much your Social Security benefits add up to.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.
