With the amount of regulations, it is not so easy to travel through the Social Security retirement maze. According to one count there are 2,728 core rules plus unknown number of other regulations that deals with Social Security. This is why the Internet is full of help for a fee to advise you how best to approach Social Security.

It is not just the people who are retiring; those who are already collecting Social Security benefits should revisit their monthly benefits to see whether they are missing anything. One study says that doing so will help one to increase already receiving benefits by 32 percent. Especially those who are divorced after starting to receive Social Security benefits should revisit with the aim to increase their benefits.

Married couple should consider many factors before applying for Social Security benefits. Calculating benefits using different scenarios may help to maximize the benefits. It may also help to stay working little longer rather than retiring at age 62 to maximize benefits. Which spouse should claim benefits first may require multiple calculations applying various factors and that may help to maximize benefits. There are online tools, books and paid as well as non-paid advice available for one to travel the complex Social Security benefits system.