Super-Size Social Security

Life doesn't allow many do overs, especially when it comes to financial planning. Most of us simply save and invest as best we can and hope that in retirement we run out of time before we run out of money.

Until recently, financial planners tended to treat Social Security benefits as the arthritic component of a retirement plan: a predictable, if feeble, income stream with limited range of motion.

But between ages 62 and 70, you can bust three surprising Social Security dance moves -- the reset, the file and suspend, and the restricted application -- which can significantly expand your planning options and supersize your benefits.

1. The reset
The reset, or do over, feature gives some flexibility to taxpayers who may have lived to regret taking a reduced benefit at age 62 instead of their full benefit at age 65 or 66, or the bonus amount by delaying retirement until age 70.

It allows you to reset your benefit amount by essentially coming out of retirement by filing Social Security Form 521, or a "Request for Withdrawal of Application," repaying all Social Security benefits received to date with no interest or adjustment for inflation, then reapplying at your current age. You can do it only once, and it is irreversible.

Once the Social Security Administration approves your request, which is almost automatic, you collect at the stepped-up amount for as long as you can fog a mirror. One added plus: Your spouse thereafter may collect spousal or survivor benefits based on your stepped-up benefit rather than your meager early retirement amount.