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By Ryan Muscatella and Todd Youngdahl, CFP®

After decades of hard work, retirement is the time to enjoy the fruits of your labor and live your retired life on your own terms. However, achieving financial security in retirement is no easy task and there are plenty of factors to consider when determining whether or not you have enough retirement income to make your ideal retirement a reality.

A key ingredient to building a sustainable stream of income is how you claim your Social Security benefits. Unfortunately, according to a survey conducted by Bankrate, almost 20% of Americans are concerned they won’t be able to cover basic expenses when they retire and also worried that Social Security either won’t be around or won’t provide enough money to live well when they retire.[1] If almost one-fifth of Americans believe their Social Security benefit will not even pay for their daily needs, then what is the point of it? Pre-retirees need to be aware of the benefits that the Social Security Administration allows them to take advantage of in order to maximize the amount they receive. One of the most beneficial features of Social Security is called a Restricted Application.