{"id":48337,"date":"2025-07-30T20:12:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-30T20:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/48337\/"},"modified":"2025-07-30T20:12:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-30T20:12:11","slug":"5-best-money-tips-for-supplementing-social-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/48337\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Best Money Tips for Supplementing Social Security"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Retiring comfortably often means getting creative with your income sources. If you\u2019re counting on Social Security, for many retirees<\/a> that alone is not enough income to live on.<\/p>\n

Find Out: I Asked ChatGPT When I\u2019ll Be Able To Retire Based on My Current Finances \u2014 Here\u2019s What It Said<\/a><\/p>\n

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But how does one go about supplementing Social Security? Certified financial planner Christopher Stroup, owner of Silicon Beach Financial<\/a>, offered some strategies for diversifying income streams, creating tax-efficient strategies and looking at other ways to bring in income<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re thinking of taking Social Security benefits as soon as you can, it may behoove you to delay them<\/a>, Stroup said, to maximize the benefits you are entitled to.<\/p>\n

Stroup pointed out that delaying Social Security can boost lifetime benefits by 24% to 32%, making it a powerful long-term strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo bridge the gap, retirees can tap brokerage accounts, part-time work or laddered CDs. Ideally, leverage sources that avoid triggering early IRA withdrawals or higher tax brackets prematurely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Be Aware: 6 Key Signs You\u2019ll Run Out of Retirement Funds Too Early<\/a><\/p>\n

In combination with delaying Social Security, retirees can continue working part time<\/a> while using high-yield savings or CDs for short-term income, Stroup suggested. You can also tap into home equity (via downsizing or a reverse mortgage) to stretch limited savings. \u201cA tailored plan can help prioritize predictable, low-risk income sources without sacrificing future stability,\u201d Stroup said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Even modest income from freelance consulting, tutoring or remote support roles can reduce withdrawal pressure on retirement accounts, Stroup said. \u201cWe often help retirees match their skills to flexible, low-stress work that keeps them socially engaged and financially confident without disrupting their lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve got the time to make investments for some years prior to retirement, look into setting up \u201cpredictable cash flows like bond ladders or qualified dividend income to cover essential expenses,\u201d Stroup urged. Then, let growth assets ride for longer-term needs.<\/p>\n

This \u201cincome floor + growth cushion\u201d approach adds both stability and resilience, he explained, particularly for tech-savvy retirees who want flexibility without excess risk.<\/p>\n

On the topic of risk, he reminded retirees that \u201cthe goal isn\u2019t to eliminate risk, it\u2019s to align it with purpose.\u201d In his practice, they help clients separate assets by time horizon, with safer investments for near-term needs and growth-oriented assets for later years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis barbell strategy creates peace of mind and guards against inflation without overexposure to volatility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Depending on your income level and circumstances, there may also be tax credits such as the saver\u2019s credit<\/a>, energy efficiency tax credits or Medicare Savings Programs that you qualify for, Stroup said.<\/p>\n

Look into state-level benefits, as well, such as property tax relief or utility subsidies.<\/p>\n

Lastly, Stroup said that many retirees overlook the power of strategic Roth conversions early in retirement. While this strategy may not work for every retiree, this timing can be \u201ca prime window\u201d to convert taxable dollars at reduced rates, which cuts future tax bills and increases flexibility later, he said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of our favorite proactive planning tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

More From GOBankingRates<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>: I\u2019m a Retirement Planner: 5 Best Money Tips for Supplementing Social Security<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Retiring comfortably often means getting creative with your income sources. If you\u2019re counting on Social Security, for many…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48338,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[28,23583,37657,147,530,733,37658],"class_list":{"0":"post-48337","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-christopher-stroup","10":"tag-income-sources","11":"tag-personal-finance","12":"tag-personalfinance","13":"tag-social-security","14":"tag-ways-to-save-money"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48337\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}