A. It's estimated that there are more than 8,000 strategies and 2,700 separate rules on social security benefits, no wonder it is extremely difficult for an ordinary consumer to figure out the best way maximize social security benefits.
Just as a simple example - with couples, who should file first and when? As many people know, anyone gets an 8% annual bonus for waiting to file for benefits between 66 and 70. But total benefits are still gauged to lifetime earnings. Individuals can still claim up to half of their spouse’s -- or ex-spouse’s, with certain restrictions -- benefits. The best strategy isn’t always clear, and there are many ways to approach it.
Thankfully, there are some specialized software customized to the task.
Here is a short list of some such software packages, there are many more you can google to find out -
http://www.savvysocialsecurity.com/
https://www.ssanalyzer.com/
https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/
https://www.socialsecuritytiming.com/