Published by Dan Morrison and Mark Ring
Two weeks ago, we had a client come into the office for a review. The goal of her review was cash flow and maintaining that cash flow to sustain her lifestyle. That lead us to her Social Security benefit options, as well as understanding the what, the when, and the how of these options. Her main question was “when should I take my Social Security benefit?” This Jacob William Advisory client has been divorced for quite a while. We explained she could be eligible to collect a benefit from her ex-spouse-not literally from them, but a social security benefit related to her ex-spouse’s work credits. So, we proceeded to run a social security benefit analysis on all the possible options she has in receiving her social security benefit. In this case, whether she should collect as a divorced spouse against her ex-spouse’s work credits, or collect under her own earned credits: the what, the when and the how.
Our client is single, above the age of 62, was married to her ex-spouse for more than 10 years and her ex-spouse is taking a retirement benefit. She meets all the criteria to file for a social security benefit against her ex-spouse’s work credits. It doesn’t affect her ex-spouse’s social security benefit in any manner and the ex-spouse is not involved in my client filing for a divorced spousal benefit in any way. So, for this client, she maximizes her social security benefits by initially collecting an ex-spousal divorce benefit to her age 70, at which time she will file to receive her Social Security benefit from her own work history.
Your Social Security benefits can play a major role in your retirement cash flow. Understanding and properly coordinating your benefit is a MUST in helping to ensure that you maximize your benefit and retain your desired lifestyle. Don’t be one of the individuals who receives their Social Security benefit by default, possibly leaving thousands of dollars of benefits unused.
If we can help you with a better understanding of how to maximize your Social Security benefits you can request our whitepaper “Social Security: Maximize Social Security Benefits & Minimize Tax Burden” or arrange for a Social Security maximization consultation by calling 410-821-6724 or emailing [email protected].
