We have all heard that since we are living longer, we should wait as long as possible to start drawing Social Security benefits. Those of us born 1937 or earlier can take full retirement at 65. From 1938 - 1943 the full retirement age is graduated between age 65 and 66. From 1955 - 1960 the full retirement age is graduated between age 66 and 67. If you were born 1960 or later, your full retirement age is 67.

You can start drawing Social Security benefits when you reach age 62. However, for the rest of your life, those benefits are reduced twenty percent below what they would have been if you waited until your full retirement age. Many people plan to wait until full retirement so they do not sacrifice that twenty percent reduction for drawing early.

Waiting until your full retirement age does not always make sense as we will see. Here's how you can legally double dip on Social Security.

Let's study an example couple, John and Mary.

They had planned to wait until their respective full retirement ages to start drawing Social Security benefits. Then they read a new financial planning book that showed them Mary was leaving over $24,000 in benefits unclaimed by waiting for full retirement.

Let's look closer at their situation. John has worked in an executive position most of his life so he will draw the maximum social security benefits at age 66 ($2,097 per month). Mary worked in lower paying jobs that withheld Social Security and she worked as a stay at home mom for many years when the children were young so her individual benefit at full retirement will not be too high ($705 per month).

Here is the double dip. Mary can draw from her own social security account at age 62. When she reaches age 66, she can discontinue her individual benefit and start to draw her benefit from John's account as his spouse. The fact that she started drawing her individual benefit early does not lower her spousal benefit when she starts drawing it at age 66. Her spousal benefit will be the full retirement spousal benefit from John's account. Spousal benefits amount to one-half of the other spouse's benefit. For Mary this will be $1,048 per month.

Also, her spousal benefit from John's account will be $343 higher than her full retirement individual benefit so it makes sense to use John's spousal benefit instead of her individual benefit.

Her individual early retirement benefit from 62 to 66 will be approximately $518 per month. If she had not read the new retirement planning book, she would not have started taking her individual benefit at 62 and would have left $24,864 unclaimed ($518 per month times 48 months = $24,864).

She also might not have known to claim John's spousal benefit instead of her own. This gem of wisdom from the financial planning book increases her full retirement monthly benefit by $305 for the rest of her life.

This is just one of the many gems of wisdom in this new financial planning book. It is revolutionary in its thinking. I recommend you read it to improve your standard of living now and after you retire so you can spend 'til the end.