Introducing the Social Security Claiming Decision
For the vast majority of Americans, Social Security benefits serve as the core of a retirement income strategy. As a government-backed, inflation-adjusted monthly income for life, Social Security benefits help to manage longevity risk, inflation risk, and market risk.
A Brief History of Social Security
Recipients of Social Security benefits today are not just retirees – they’re disabled workers, spouses and young children of deceased or disabled workers, and the spouses and survivors of retirees. This was not always the case.
What Does Retirement Mean?
Retirement has changed. It’s no longer about getting your gold watch and playing golf all the time. Retirement is now a frame of mind – you’re retired when you can do what you want. It doesn’t necessarily have anything to with whether you are drawing a paycheck or not. Retirement is the freedom to decide what you want to do. At the same time, retirement has also gotten longer. You could very well be looking at a retirement that lasts 30 years or more, making retirement even harder to plan for than it was before.
What’s Really Going to Happen When Social Security Runs Out of Money
One of the hottest topics in retirement income planning over the past several years has been how to help individuals strategize on their Social Security claiming decisions.
Withdrawal Sequencing: Avoiding the Pitfalls of Retirement Distribution Order
Taking retirement income from your investment portfolio in retirement is like walking through a minefield. Most people don’t think about it, but your distribution strategy in retirement – how you actually take money out of your portfolio – and the resulting taxes can have a significant impact on how long your money lasts and how much you’ll be able to spend throughout retirement.
