Planning Discussions - Social Security - Part 1 of 2
Wealth & Pension Services Group
William Kring, CFP®, AIF - Chief Investment Officer
08/18/2014
An Update on Social Security: Part 1 of 2
With an estimated 10,000 Americans expected to retire each day over the next 19 years, it’s no wonder that Social Security has become such a hot topic.1 Through this two part series, we seek to address some common questions surrounding Social Security benefits, and provide an update on the Social Security Administration’s current financial status.
Utilizing All Your Resources
Just a few years ago, it was nearly impossible to find a single independent reputable source of information for learning more about social security. Today, there are several quality websites devoted to Social Security planning. Even the Social Security Administration’s web site has vastly improved and now includes lots of great calculators and information.
With these new tools, we now have the ability to test scenarios, and make decisions based on personal situations and future expectations. Additionally, there are now ways to explain the more nuanced options within social security, such as ‘file and suspend” and “restricted benefits.”
Planning for the Future
In our experience, after assisting numerous clients and attending educational seminars on Social Security, the first thing to know is that the devil is in the details. Second, you can’t necessarily rely on the Social Security Administration to help you. They can answer questions, but they do not give advice. Lastly, it is always best to plan ahead.
So, the best advice we can give you now, is to start learning about the different options and their pros and cons. Questions like, “Do I start early? Do I start late? If I have a spouse, should there be a different withdrawal strategy for each person? Can I change my mind at a later date?”
How We Can Help
To help answer these questions and others, we incorporate a social security withdrawal strategy into our normal financial planning and wealth management process. Together, we review your financial situation and find the strategy that offers you the highest lifetime benefit potential. Once this is complete, we build your remaining retirement income stream around your individual Social Security withdrawal strategy.
In addition to questions concerning how and when to take social security, we get an equal number of questions about the longevity of Social Security. “Will it be around for me?” So, next week we’ll post more information about social security and information from the latest report from the Trustees of the Social Security Trust Funds.
If we can help your or someone you care about with social security, please let us know.
Source: Washington Post