This week’s theme on the Retirement Quick Tips Podcast is: 10 Things You Must Do Before Retirement - Part 1

Today, I’m talking about planning your social security filing strategy.

What age will you start taking social security? Will you start as early as possible when you retire? Perhaps wait a couple years and plug the gap with higher withdrawals in the first couple years of retirement? Or will you wait until age 70 to start in the hopes that you’ll live long enough to maximize your monthly and lifetime income from SS? 

These are all viable options, and the best choice is hard to determine up front, because it’s largely based on your income needs - i.e. do you need to start social security right away or can you afford to wait? Many people simply can’t afford to wait and need to start the income stream from SS as soon as they retire. Others have other income and asset sources to draw from, making the decision a bit more complicated. 

The other tricky factor is that none of us know our expiration date, so if you knew in advance that you would live to 75, or 85, or 95, it would make the decision a lot easier. But you can look at your health and your family health history to help you determine a realizstic life expectancy to help make the best decision.

[Explain what we do with clients in side-by-side analysis]

Generally, the longer you expect to live, and the higher your SSI benefit amount will be, the more it makes sense to wait. Doing so will maximize your monthly and lifetime income. 

That’s it for today. Thanks for listening! My name is Ashley Micciche and this is the Retirement Quick Tips podcast.  

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Tags: retirement, investing, money, finance, financial planning, retirement planning, saving money, personal finance