2 Social Security Changes That Could Affect Your Retirement

Joe and Al discuss the two major Social Security changes that could change everything for your retirement plan. Find out how your benefits are taxed and why you should delay claiming. The two also cover the difference between fee-based and fee-only advisors (Hint: fee-only is the better choice).

6:01 “How and when you claim your Social Security benefits will have a dramatic effect on how much your Social Security check will be every month”

8:16 “There are two things. There is the file and suspend and another one called restricted application. Those two strategies are no longer”

12:42 “Did you know that when they came out with the spousal benefit, only women could claim the spousal benefit?”

14:34 “[for file and suspend:] If I’m age 66 by April 30^th of this year, and I file and suspend, then my spouse can go ahead and claim the spousal benefits presuming that my spouse was age 62 by the end of last year”

18:34 “Let’s talk about taxes when it comes to Social Security strategies”

19:31 “You’re actually taxed on your Social Security benefits at a much greater level than 15% even when you’re in that low tax bracket”

25:39 “The longer you can wait on taking your Social Security benefits, obviously the higher the benefit it”

27:34 “As you near retirement, tax planning becomes even more important than ever before, and you need a forward-looking strategy”

32:03 “To sum it up, fee-only is what you’re looking for. That’s what we are, that’s the kind of advisor you want—fee-only are 100% fiduciary all the time”

33:41 “Your monthly benefit almost doubles between ages 62 and 70; it’s worth waiting [to claim your Social Security benefit] if you can afford it”