For many people, the concepts of retiring and taking Social Security are synonymous. But do they have to be?

For those who want to live solely off benefits, obviously the answer is yes. But some people have other retirement resources like a 401(k), investments, personal savings, private pensions, and side hustles. If these can sustain you, you could exit the full-time workforce without touching your benefits until you reach the max retirement age.

In this scenario, Social Security becomes a form of insurance against living longer than expected, as explained here by Katherine Tierney by way of CNET. Social Security is still valuable in this role, and in some cases can be more like a backup plan than anything.

Whether it’s your backup retirement strategy or your primary income source, we believe seniors deserve the max benefit. Learn about our efforts to guarantee fair yearly cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) here, then follow us on Facebook and Twitter.