Helping You Navigate Towards Your Retirement Destination

Helping You to Understand the Social Security Benefits Available to You and When to Use Them

Determining the optimal timing of Social Security benefits depends on many factors, including life expectancy, lifestyle, goals, marital status, tax liability, legacy wishes and more. We take all these variables into consideration as we develop a Social Security strategy to meet your specific needs. 


Social Security should typically be viewed as a supplement to your monthly income, not as the main source. That said, it plays an important role in your overall retirement income strategy, as it can help provide security and consistency during periods of market volatility. In addition, Social Security payments can be periodically adjusted to keep pace with inflation, a valuable benefit given today’s rapidly rising rates.

How do I navigate Social Security challenges?

  • Determining Optimal Timing to Begin Receiving Benefits

    Claiming benefits too early can reduce the income potential of your full benefits. Waiting a few years can add up to 8% per year to your total payout. That said, there are reasons it may make sense to being taking Social Security earlier rather than later. We help you determine the best time to being taking Social Security, based on your personal financial situation.

  • Planning for Your Spouse

    When determining the optimal timing of Social Security benefits, it’s important to consider your spouse’s life expectancy as well as your own. One common mistake couples often make is taking the higher-earning spouse’s Social Security early without maximizing the benefit potential. This approach exposes the surviving spouse to the longevity risk of receiving a lower benefit if the higher-earning spouse dies first. It’s important to consider joint life expectancy when determining Social Security timing. 


    In addition to life expectancy, it’s important to consider the couple’s age difference, financial status and tax liability when determining the optimal timing of payments. We can walk you through a full analysis of all considerations.

  • Tax Considerations

    Depending on your income, up to 85% of your Social Security benefits may be taxable. It’s important to take this into consideration when deciding what sources of income to draw from in retirement.

  • Pension Income

    Did you know that income from a pension has the potential to reduce or eliminate your Social Security benefits? Teachers, public employees and others eligible for pension benefits may not have Social Security withheld from their payroll taxes. As a result, pension income may result in a reduction of Social Security benefits. This is an important consideration to be aware of as you’re planning for retirement.