ABOUT THE GUESTS

mary beth franklin
ABOUT Mary

Mary Beth Franklin is a contributing editor for InvestmentNews and is a nationally recognized expert in Social Security claiming strategies.  Formerly a Capitol Hill reporter at United Press International and retirement and tax editor at Kiplinger Personal Finance, Mary Beth has been working in the finance industry for years.  She frequently speaks and writes about current research on [...]

ABOUT HOSTS

Joe Anderson
ABOUT Joseph

As CEO and President, Joe Anderson has created a unique, ambitious business model utilizing advanced service, training, sales, and marketing strategies to grow Pure Financial Advisors into the trustworthy, client-focused company it is today. Pure Financial, a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA), was ranked 15 out of 100 top ETF Power Users by RIA channel (2023), was [...]

Alan Clopine
ABOUT Alan

Alan Clopine is the Executive Chairman of Pure Financial Advisors, LLC (Pure). He has been an executive leader of the Company for over a decade, including CFO, CEO, and Chairman. Alan joined the firm in 2008, about one year after it was established. In his tenure at Pure, the firm has grown from approximately $50 [...]

Published On
October 3, 2015

Joe & Big Al cover the top ten Social Security myths. Social Security expert Mary Beth Franklin joins the show to discuss effective claiming strategies and how to avoid common mistakes regarding this huge source of retirement income.


2:14 “The whole fee-only side of financial planning is growing like crazy”

5:21 “Automatically, if you’re married, the spouse is the beneficiary, even if you don’t name him or her. That’s under ERISA law…IRA’s aren’t under ERISA, so whoever the beneficiary is on that account is the beneficiary. If you don’t name a beneficiary, that’s where it gets a little bit fuzzy”

7:47 “Name a beneficiary; check your beneficiary form. Go to the custodian or the 401(k) provider and ask for that designated beneficiary form…do not name your trust. That is a huge mistake we see all the time!”

9:35 “There are so many misconceptions about the best way to claim your Social Security benefits…making the wrong decision could delay your retirement and cost you tens of thousands of dollars in benefits”

10:22 “Here are the top ten Social Security myths”

12:33 “If you have health issues or you need the money, certainly take it [your benefit] earlier, but if you’re in reasonable health and you can afford it, wait to collect your benefits because you’ll get a lot more”

16:40 “Social Security is a lot more than just a check in retirement—in fact, how and when you claim your Social Security benefits will impact your investments, taxes, risk strategy and possibly even your estate plan”

17:12 Start of Interview with Mary Beth Franklin

17:45 “As most people know, yes you can claim Social Security benefits as early as age 62, but if you do that, your benefits will be permanently reduced for the rest of your life and you will not be able to use the creative claiming strategies [which I will describe] which could mean the difference of $100,000 or more over the lifetime of a married couple”

22:15 “Let’s say I claim my benefit at age 62 and my wife is age 66. She’s full retirement age and I decided to claim mine early—if she takes the spousal benefit at her full retirement age event though I claimed mine early, is she going to get a reduction in her benefit?”

27:32 “Social Security is something that you really have to understand because there’s a lot of different ways to collect benefits and particularly if you’re married”

30:42 “Figure out what you’re spending today, and then try to project what you want to spend in retirement…then look at your fixed income in retirement”

33:11 “Try to figure out what you can cut in spending right now and start living that lifestyle today…it’s kind of like a retirement rehearsal”

34:31 “Whatever your situation, realize that you can improve it”