This past week I went with several friends up to Marble Falls for a couple days of golf, whiskey drinking,  card playing and steak eating camaraderie.  Over one such session, the topic of Social Security arose and two of the guys mentioned that their financial advisors recommended that they wait no longer than Full Retirement Age (67) in their cases to claim Social Security benefits.  When quizzed they both mentioned that they were told it made no sense from a dollar and cents perspective to Continue reading →

One of the more interesting and challenging questions many WOMEN have is not only when should they claim their own benefits, but what benefits can they claim if they are Divorced – Widowed – Remarried? This applies to men as well, but for this case study I’ll use a recent female client and I’ll call her Alissa; Alissa DOB is 10/16/58 which means she will be 65 next month.  Her PIA (Projected Benefits) is $2918 @ FRA (66 & 8 months).  She thought she was Continue reading →

Over the past 10+ years I’ve had the distinct pleasure to work with several thousand individuals and couples, in helping them determine when and how to claim Social Security benefits.  No two people are alike and thus cookie cutter advice is unacceptable!  According to the Social Security Administration there are over 8,000 claiming strategies available for couples and more than 2,700 separate rules on claiming benefits.  Thus, there is no room for over the counter software, unresearched recommendations or prejudicial decisions when it comes to Continue reading →

With the heat outside, many of us are choosing to stay indoors and some are catching up on financial planning issues which of course in some cases includes Social Security decisions.  Two consultations I had are worth exploring and both deal with them receiving bad advice from advisors. Case #1 Mary (not real name) 68 is waiting until 70 to claim her own benefit projected benefit of $3,100 / mo.  Mary was married to Paul for 18 years, but they divorced in 2005.  Paul passed Continue reading →

Last Wednesday while speaking at CPE by the SEA, I was visiting with Kristi Ondracek, CFO TXCPA Houston about how AI will change the accounting field.  In our discussion we wondered what AI would say about when to claim Social Security.  We pulled up ChatGPT and asked when one should claim?  The answer; Deciding when to claim Social Security benefits is a personal decision that depends on several factors. Here are some considerations to help you make an informed decision: Full Retirement Age (FRA): Your Continue reading →

Answer:  When is your check out date?  Better Answer:  What’s your joint lives check out date?  If we only knew our check out dates, claiming Social Security would be so easy!  But that begs the question, would we really, really, really want to know?  I’ll error on the side that we wouldn’t want to know, thus we need to look at all the variables before claiming benefits.  This morning I came across article from Think Advisor, as to when you should claim Social Security, these Continue reading →

Over the last 10+ years I’ve been privileged to work with many CPA’s and Financial Advisors in consulting with their clients on Social Security claiming decisions.  I find these consultations extremely enjoyable and rewarding and a great opportunity to use the talents I’ve been entrusted with on my Back 9 Journey.  This last month 2 cases come to mind the really resonate as to why I continue this service. Last summer Freida lost her husband of 47 years, she went to SSA in hopes of Continue reading →

Always Retire at the Beginning of a Bull Market – Sequence of Return Risk If someone had retired in the beginning of 2022, they would have experienced a 9% drop in the DJIA and a 20% loss in the S&P 500.  A 60/40 Stock / Bond  Portfolio was down 16% for the year.  That does not take into account withdraws taken by the retiree to live off of or management charges.  Another way of looking at would be an individual had a $1 million IRA Continue reading →

Happy New Year!  Hard to believe we’re in a New Year!!  Where does time go?  48 years ago this month I started my 1st job out of college with Northwestern Mutual in Oshkosh, Wi.  Don’t ask how that went, but it did serve as a stepping stone into the world of finance which is where I still find myself in 2023.  So where do we find ourselves today? “It ain’t what you know, that gets you in trouble.  It’s what you know that ain’t so.”  Continue reading →

As we come to the close of another year, I thought it only appropriate to update the status of Social Security heading into 2023.  Next month I’ll be speaking to the TXCPA in Houston and the above is the topic for my session taken from that classic western movie starring Clint Eastwood. I’ve got some Good News & I’ve Got Some Bad News On the positive side (GOOD) we’ll all be looking at an 8.7% increase in benefits next year on top of this years Continue reading →