Social Security
Social Security is a critically important income stream one can use to help meet spending needs throughout retirement. Making the optimal decision regarding your Social Security collection strategy can be the difference between enjoying a prosperous retirement and worrying about running out of money while you're alive. Scroll down to see how we might be able to help you make the right decision regarding your Social Security retirement benefits
Social Security Planning for Individuals
Why is Social Security such an important asset?
- Longevity Risk - Social Security as a hedge - One of the biggest risks retirees face is running out of money before they run out of life. Once you reach your mid-60s, the odds are in your favor that not only you but also your spouse could live well into your 80s.
- Inflation - Prices of what you consume go up over time. The same can be said for your Social Security benefit, which receives an inflation adjustment annually (to the extent there is inflation in a given year). Over the course of one's retirement, those annual inflation increases can be the difference between enjoying a prosperous retirement and worrying about running out of money.
- Meaningful Value - The difference between two claiming strategies can amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime. It's worth the time to be strategic about how you will claim your benefits!
There's a lot of misinformation out there that can result in you making the wrong decision regarding how to collect your Social Security benefit. Please reach out to us to discuss how we might be able to work together to help you make the best decision for you.
Social Security Speaking Engagements
The choices you make regarding Social Security can have a material impact on the overall success of your retirement. John has presented to thousands of people across the tri-state area on the care one should take when deciding how to collect Social Security benefits.
Topics covered in the presentation include:
Social Security 101 – Setting a foundation
- Establish basic foundational concepts underlying Social Security before getting into more advanced content
- Review how one’s benefit is calculated and where to find information on one’s benefit
- Discuss tradeoffs of collecting early versus delaying collection of Social Security
Separating fact from fiction around Social Security
- Longevity planning – address the concern that people don't think they're going to live long enough for it to make sense to delay collection of their Social Security benefit. Review data that shows that many of us are going to live a lot longer than we think.
- Status of the trust fund – it’s common to declare that Social Security is bankrupt, so the presentation delves into exactly what that means, the current status of the Social Security trust fund and resolutions that are being discussed in Washington, D.C. to resolve the issue.
- How valuable is the optimal Social Security decision – using four case studies (increasing in complexity from start to finish in order to help build understanding), the presentation reviews common scenarios faced by individuals, explains the appropriate collection strategy, and quantifies the potential difference between the optimal strategy and that which may be selected using conventional wisdom.
How do the facts and recommendations change in cases involving divorce?
What can I do if I’ve already started collecting my Social Security benefit? If I’ve already started collecting, is it too late?
To inquire about my speaker fees, you can schedule a call here. I’m looking forward to hearing more about your next event!