Maximize your Social Security benefits by changing your thinking

[vnatale]

This was excellent. Detailed and comprehensive. One of the best explanations I've ever read regarding when to start collecting Social Security. Worthwhile for you to pass it on to anyone you know pondering the decision as to what age to start collecting Social Security.

Vinny

Maximize your Social Security benefits by changing your thinking

https://financialducksinarow.com/14879/ ... r-thinking

[flyingpylon]

Not sure I would give it such high praise, but the emphasis on SS as insurance would be helpful to a lot of people.

[vnatale]

Not sure I would give it such high praise, but the emphasis on SS as insurance would be helpful to a lot of people.

Maybe not for you who perhaps has a good knowledge of all things Social Security. But for the vast majority of people it would be highly informative.

[whatchamacallit]

I did like the article and how they explained it. The people that need to read it might feel insulted if you sent it to them.

Unfortunately a lot of people are going to fall into this category below:

I don’t have enough money saved otherwise to get me through to the later filing age.
Not much to counterpoint this with. If you don’t have the resources to delay, you may have no choice but to either file for Social Security earlier, or continue working (or pick up a part-time job) in order to cover your living expenses. Another viable alternative is to reduce expenses somehow – downsizing your home, lifestyle, etc., or selling some of your “things”.

[barrett]

The article is fine as far as it goes but this last paragraph was kind of just thrown in as an aside:

"We didn’t cover the nuances involved with spousal benefits, dependent benefits, or survivor benefits. These auxiliary benefits could impact your filing decision in either direction, and coordination of all available benefits is necessary to achieve an optimal outcome."

But those "nuances" are huge for many couples.

This site can be very helpful:

https://opensocialsecurity.com

But that calculator leaves out a lot as well. Most importantly, it doesn't allow one to input how much they have in taxable, tax-deferred & Roth accounts, what their annual expenses are, etc.

In our situation, I am 8+ years older than my wife and have been the higher earner overall. It absolutely makes sense for me to collect at age 70 and for her to start at 62 (or, as the calculator suggested for some reason, 62 & 1 month). With her being a woman (we are quite traditional) and having good genes for the most part, there's a good chance that she will outlive me by 12-15 years. Me waiting to 70 could be a huge plus for her. But I am also able from ages 62-70 to do some Roth conversions and spend down from tax-deferred assets which will hopefully help us avoid the tax torpedo of SS & RMDs (the latter of which keeps getting pushed back in recent years... now 73 for me & 75 for my wife).

So there is a lot more to consider for couples compared to single folks. But when I talk to friends about actually thinking about SS strategically, their eyes glaze over and I can see their brains turning off. Most people just have their minds made up years in advance about when to claim.

Lastly, this can be a decision that is taken over time while considering how life & finances are actually playing out. In my case I am waiting to claim for 96 months after I turn 62. So I basically have 96 times to change my mind if I like.

[vnatale]

The article is fine as far as it goes but this last paragraph was kind of just thrown in as an aside:

"We didn’t cover the nuances involved with spousal benefits, dependent benefits, or survivor benefits. These auxiliary benefits could impact your filing decision in either direction, and coordination of all available benefits is necessary to achieve an optimal outcome."

But those "nuances" are huge for many couples.

This site can be very helpful:

https://opensocialsecurity.com

But that calculator leaves out a lot as well. Most importantly, it doesn't allow one to input how much they have in taxable, tax-deferred & Roth accounts, what their annual expenses are, etc.

In our situation, I am 8+ years older than my wife and have been the higher earner overall. It absolutely makes sense for me to collect at age 70 and for her to start at 62 (or, as the calculator suggested for some reason, 62 & 1 month). With her being a woman (we are quite traditional) and having good genes for the most part, there's a good chance that she will outlive me by 12-15 years. Me waiting to 70 could be a huge plus for her. But I am also able from ages 62-70 to do some Roth conversions and spend down from tax-deferred assets which will hopefully help us avoid the tax torpedo of SS & RMDs (the latter of which keeps getting pushed back in recent years... now 73 for me & 75 for my wife).

So there is a lot more to consider for couples compared to single folks. But when I talk to friends about actually thinking about SS strategically, their eyes glaze over and I can see their brains turning off. Most people just have their minds made up years in advance about when to claim.

Lastly, this can be a decision that is taken over time while considering how life & finances are actually playing out. In my case I am waiting to claim for 96 months after I turn 62. So I basically have 96 times to change my mind if I like.

Yes, what you say is definitely true.

However, it was a long, comprehensive article dealing with the simplest possible Social Security scenario. A single person.

Once you enter the Social Security couple territory it becomes exponentially more complex (as you touch on above) which requires far more detail, which then turns into a far longer article. It's so complex that entire books get written about Social Security strategy for couples.

I've recently learned a lot about it but have not attempted to master it because it does not apply to me.

[flyingpylon]

The article is fine as far as it goes but this last paragraph was kind of just thrown in as an aside:

"We didn’t cover the nuances involved with spousal benefits, dependent benefits, or survivor benefits. These auxiliary benefits could impact your filing decision in either direction, and coordination of all available benefits is necessary to achieve an optimal outcome."

But those "nuances" are huge for many couples.

This site can be very helpful:

https://opensocialsecurity.com

But that calculator leaves out a lot as well. Most importantly, it doesn't allow one to input how much they have in taxable, tax-deferred & Roth accounts, what their annual expenses are, etc.

In our situation, I am 8+ years older than my wife and have been the higher earner overall. It absolutely makes sense for me to collect at age 70 and for her to start at 62 (or, as the calculator suggested for some reason, 62 & 1 month). With her being a woman (we are quite traditional) and having good genes for the most part, there's a good chance that she will outlive me by 12-15 years. Me waiting to 70 could be a huge plus for her. But I am also able from ages 62-70 to do some Roth conversions and spend down from tax-deferred assets which will hopefully help us avoid the tax torpedo of SS & RMDs (the latter of which keeps getting pushed back in recent years... now 73 for me & 75 for my wife).

So there is a lot more to consider for couples compared to single folks. But when I talk to friends about actually thinking about SS strategically, their eyes glaze over and I can see their brains turning off. Most people just have their minds made up years in advance about when to claim.

Lastly, this can be a decision that is taken over time while considering how life & finances are actually playing out. In my case I am waiting to claim for 96 months after I turn 62. So I basically have 96 times to change my mind if I like.

This is my situation as well, since I'm 7 years older than my wife.

Here's another useful tool for Social Security: https://ssa.tools/

[vnatale]

A few weeks ago had to complete acquiring continuing education credits.

I achieved some of them by watching a webinar and then taking an exam on its contents. The webinar was on Social Security.

As part of the webinar I received access to an excellent 40 page booklet entitled: "Strategies for collecting benefits".

Here is the Table of Contents.

Capture.JPG (82.86 KiB) Viewed 3206 times

If you want to acquire more knowledge as to when to best collect as a couple this booklet would be an excellent starting point.

Send me a private message in this forum that you'd like a copy and I will send it to you.

[vnatale]

Another resource (free):

https://paytaxeslater.com/books/social- ... y-secrets/

"The Little Black Book of
Social Security Secrets"

Written by a well known CPA / lawyer

Getting my copy now.

[vnatale]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brmY7NCkckY

Episode 65: The Ins, Outs, and everything in between of Social Security Claiming Strategies

48 views May 17, 2023
In this episode, we welcome Mary Beth Franklin and discuss the various intricacies of social security claiming strategies. While there are basic decision trees that most of us know about, Mary Beth goes into detail regarding more nuanced strategies that can make a big difference in your payout. We also discuss Mary’s views on where she sees social security over the long term.

[vnatale]

https://obliviousinvestor.com/claiming- ... we-assume/


Claiming Social Security Early to Invest It: What Rate of Return (Discount Rate) Should We Assume?