Most Americans will either have to or want to retire one day. With the massive population of baby boomers out there, millions of them already have started their retirement and millions more will be retiring every year for the next decade or more. To have a good retirement generally requires a lifetime of planning, but for millions of Americans there just is not going to be enough in Social Security and basic retirement funds to make those golden years all that golden.

24/7 Wall St. frequently has looked at long-term planning issues around investing and retirement. The good news is that if you are set to retire in the immediate years ahead, there is effectively zero risk that your Social Security benefits will not be there for another decade or two. The bad news for the majority of the population is that most people will not be able to live very well only on Social Security alone. Even adding in retirement funds may not make those golden years all that pleasant without some additional self-help. You need to take action and make an effort to help boost your income and cash available immediately and in the years ahead.

While Social Security is safe for the boomers and elderly, younger generations have very low expectations. Their expectation is that Social Security will not be there for them at all, or if it is there the benefits might be greatly reduced. All this makes it imperative for people of all ages to begin thinking about how to supplement their retirement as early as possible.

Investment advisers commonly tell clients to have saved $1 million, $2 million or more to be able to enjoy retirement. Even if you arent working any longer, those pesky costs from food, insurance, medicine, transportation, clothing, shelter, utilities, bills, vacations and entertainment all will keep adding up every month. We previously provided a basic plan for most ages on how to save that $1 million for retirement, and that is very attainable, but the reality is that most people just arent anywhere close to having saved that much money.

There are some basic issues that need to be considered about funding a proper retirement and taking a reality check about just how golden your future golden years will be. It is assumed that you are going to have some Social Security, if you are already near retirement, but the statistics from government and independent researchers show that an additional retirement account or other savings have to be in place. Here are some basic stats on Social Security, retirement income and so on:

Add all this up and here is what it means ahead for Joe Retiree. Even the maximum monthly Social Security benefit is unlikely to go very far in your retirement, and the average 401(K) and IRA accounts are likely to add only a few thousand dollars per year in income.

Here are 10 simple efforts that can boost your income and give you extra cash to make your retirement really feel like they are the golden years.

Knowing how to time your Social Security payments is a critical part of retirement for most Americans. Your mandated retirement age of 65 to 67 depends on what year you were born, and the SSA website shows a table of scheduled benefits. Some people choose to start taking their Social Security benefits at 62 years of age, while others choose to delay their benefits until age 70.

That SSA table shows a breakdown of how much more you get per month for delaying or how much less you receive for starting early. For anyone born 1960 or later, the full retirement age is 67 years old. Taking Social Security for those born 1960 or later at age 62 reduces monthly payments by 30% (to $700 for each $1,000 eligible at full age), and delaying Social Security until age 70 turns a $1,000 benefit into roughly $1,280. Taking money sooner or later depends on needs, lifestyle, how long each person reasonably expects to live and many other factors.

Dont forget: if you start taking Social Security before the mandatory age of 70, you can always choose to interrupt the benefits and let those monthly benefits grow.

Originally posted here:
10 Easy Steps to Boost Your Income and Cash in Retirement - 24/7 Wall St.