7 Reasons You Should You Take Social Security Sooner

We are often told that we should delay taking Social Security for as long as we can (up to 70), but there are times when we should actually take it sooner. In this podcast, Joe and Al discuss seven reasons to take Social Security sooner rather than later. Are people happier in retirement? A recent Market Watch study will give you the answer. Learn what the IRS “Courtesy Disconnect” is and listen to a client story about a single woman who is trying to make it through retirement on her own.

1:56 “When it comes to taking Social Security, the popular advice has been to delay as long as possible as the checks will be higher”

2:17 “Here are why clients may want to take their Social Security checks now rather than later”

6:41 “A simpler way to look at it is this: don’t take it while you’re working, and then when you retire, if you don’t need it, wait. If you do need it, go for it. Unless you’ve got impaired life expectancy, then you might want to take it earlier”

7:42 “A dollar withdrawn from an IRA account is taxed at ordinary income, and the more money withdrawn, the higher the income tax will be…but retirement income from Social Security is initially tax-free”

8:35 “Only 85% of Social Security is taxed, in some cases less than that; your IRA is 100% taxed
11:34 “Contrary to popular opinion, [retirement] is not the time in which your satisfaction with life declines and your health deteriorates—instead, it’s the exact opposite. Retirement is likely to improve your overall happiness and health, according to a working paper just published by the National Bureau of Economic Research”

16:27 “We’re saving more, but less into our retirement accounts…the average saver is more focused on building an emergency fund”

21:17 “The telephone hold times during this past filing season were so long that the IRS hung up on callers when the hold time reached two hours, however callers were warned that they were about to be dropped, hence courtesy disconnect”
25:06 “If you have a stock or mutual fund or piece of real estate that you hold outside of a retirement account and you hold it for at least a year, that’s considered a long-term capital gain. You sell it and you get a special long-term capital gain rate, which is 15% for most people”

27:11 “Some way or another, taxes are going up”

31:53 “Advisors can come in one of two types: commission-based, which means they earn money-based on investments and planning choices, and two: fee-only, which means work for a flat fee or percentage of your assets and earn nothing extra based on your decisions”

36:49 “Even if you make mistakes, it’s never too late to assess where you’re at right now, come up with a new plan and go forward with confidence”