Social Security Claiming Strategies
Retirement today looks very different than it did a generation ago. Corporations have eliminated tens of thousands of traditional pension plans, leaving most families to shoulder the responsibility of creating their own “personal pension” from 401(k), 403(b), and similar accounts. At the same time, Social Security has become increasingly complex, with thousands of filing rules and a government workforce that is prohibited from giving personal advice—yet the timing and structure of your Social Security benefits can make or break your retirement income plan.
Many people feel secure when they look at a large defined contribution balance, but the real question is: will that balance reliably replace the lifetime income that old style pensions used to provide? Research shows that a large majority of Americans are not on track to meet their long term retirement income needs, which often means every dollar of their savings must be committed just to basic income—leaving little or nothing for unexpected expenses, healthcare shocks, or legacy goals.
When there is no cushion, any unplanned cost—home repairs, medical bills, helping family—forces retirees to raid their savings and further weaken an already strained income plan. In practice, this lack of flexibility is one of the biggest risks facing today’s retirees. People are diligent about insuring their homes, cars, health, and lives, but when it comes to protecting their retirement income from market downturns, inflation, longevity, and poor timing decisions, most end up “self insuring” without realizing it.
A smarter approach starts with a coordinated Social Security filing strategy and a retirement income design that work together. By carefully choosing when and how to file for benefits, it is often possible to significantly improve lifetime income security and reduce the pressure on personal savings. Filing too early—or in a sub optimal way—can unintentionally force you to self fund too much of your retirement income from your own assets, increasing the chance of running short later in life.
This is where professional guidance can make a meaningful difference. The goal of this part of my practice is to help you:
- Understand your Social Security options and build a filing strategy tailored to your situation.
- Turn your retirement accounts into reliable, sustainable income rather than a pile of uncertain assets.
- Protect your retirement plan against avoidable risks, so your savings are there when you need them most.
Working together, we can design a retirement income and Social Security strategy that seeks not only to cover monthly expenses, but also to preserve as much flexibility as possible for the unexpected and for the people and causes that matter most to you.
As a Certified Social Security Claiming Strategist, I have the ability to:
- Help you determine when you are first eligible to collect benefits and how the age at which you apply will affect the monthly amount you receive.
- Determine how current employment will impact your ability to collect benefits.
- Most effectively coordinate Social Security benefits with pension and IRA assets on a tax efficient basis.
- Explain how savvy retirees have increased their annual Social Security benefits by as much as 110%.
- Calculate a cost-of-living-adjustments impact to benefits.
- Review how spousal, survivor and divorced spouse benefits work.
- Explore when to leverage strategies that will maximize your benefit while collecting from a former spouse.
- Identify ways to optimize your benefit while collecting a survivor benefit.
- Quantify the effect of remarriage on survivor benefits for widowed and divorced spouses.
- Show you how to amend your current benefits election if you made a mistake