The stated mission of the Social Security Administration (SSA) is to “Deliver Social Security services that meet the changing needs of the public.” While that is a nice thought, it often seems as though SSA’s primary objective is to get people to begin benefits as early as possible without regard to the long term impact that early claiming might have. Here’s what I mean. (more…)
Although RMDs are outside my area of expertise, thoughts about beginning Social Security benefits at age 70 are often accompanied by musings about the need to do something about IRAs and other qualified retirement accumulations around age 70½. Recently I had occasion to help a Social Security client consider some of the issues related to the timing of his first RMD. (more…)
With all the media attention centered on the demise of file and suspend, you might have gotten the idea that it no longer matters what you do regarding Social Security claiming decisions. Not true! File and suspend was utilized by a surprisingly narrow range of Social Security claimants, sometimes inappropriately and to a couple’s detriment. However, it was a very “cool” technique that often made me look like a genius, so I regret that it no longer has a place in the claiming toolkit. That being said, the particular claiming strategy that you and your spouse choose can still make a substantial difference in the benefit dollars you will collect. (more…)
Since the enactment of the Bipartisan Budget Bill of 2015, much has been made in the public media of the imminent demise (on April 30, 2016) of the popular file and suspend technique. Meanwhile, the SSA was busy trying to wrap its bureaucratic head around the new regime and had little to say on the matter until well into February. For the most part, what all of this publicity has produced is CONFUSION!
The following email I received is a perfect example:
“I will turn 66 in June; my husband has already started taking his benefits. I was planning to take spousal benefits and wait till 70 to take mine, but the law has changed and my birthday is about a month after the cutoff date. This sudden change in the law is distressing and confusing. What should I do?” (more…)
Shortly after 12:00 noon on Monday, November 2, 2015, the President signed the two-year budget bill into law. The bill contained some amendments to the Social Security Act that will curtail some claiming strategies that have been both useful to and popular among individuals and couples across the socioeconomic landscape. (more…)
Just a week ago I was casually telling audiences in Philadelphia, as well as individuals who asked, that I wasn’t very worried about the file and suspend technique going out of style anytime soon. After all, the primary noise had come out of the Obama administration budget proposal for fiscal year 2015, and it seems as though nothing that the administration proposes gains any traction in Congress. Moreover, our dysfunctional legislators in Washington seemingly cannot agree on anything, so I had little concern over the disparate factions getting together on something so lower and middle class friendly as Social Security.
Peter’s consulting services are an absolute MUST for anyone who is engaged in retirement planning or getting ready to claim Social Security benefits. Had I availed myself of this type of assistance at the appropriate time, it would have meant an additional $24,000 to me and my wife over a four-year period.
In fact, even if I had approached him halfway through that four-year period, we would have been able to recover about $15,000. But he had not yet begun his practice at that time, and I am not familiar with anyone else who does this kind of work.
Peter’s creative approach to claiming strategies and encyclopedic knowledge of this subject area goes into every handcrafted report he prepares for his clients, resulting in an incredible value for individuals and couples of all descriptions.
I also had the opportunity to attend Peter’s presentation to an audience of over 100 people at the Vermont State Employees Credit Union annual meeting in March 2014. The one word that comes immediately to mind is: COMPELLING!
Jerome “Jerry” Diamond, Attorney
Montpelier, Vermont
I recently consulted with a very sophisticated client over an unusual Social Security planning situation and was gratified to receive the following email message from the client – along with her permission to post it on my website:
Dear Peter,
I can’t thank you adequately for your swift, professional and excellent advice on our rather tricky Social Security question. Your answer was creative, not obvious, and especially timely. You obviously are the “go to” person for anyone with Social Security issues. It’s wonderful to speak with someone who knows their stuff – and is creative and super-timely to boot!
I have over thirty years’ experience in financial planning with clients throughout Vermont, and wish I had known of your services many years earlier. You’d have saved me countless gray hairs, and my clients significant sums of money. Thank you for providing such a valuable service, and for doing it so beautifully.
Very much obliged to you,
Amy Leavitt
Former CFP and Principal, Leavitt Associates, Quechee, Vermont
The Social Security Maven has accepted an invitation to deliver two special presentations preceding the opening of the UVM Extension Tax School in November 2014. The presentations are scheduled at Essex Junction, VT, on November 4 and in Killington, VT, on November 10. The Tax School is annually attended by about 400 tax preparers located in the state of Vermont. Click here for more information.
It was back in 2010 when I heard a Social Security expert mention the terminology “file and suspend.”
It immediate captured my imagination, as it was the first inkling I had that:
It took some serious study before I truly understood how the technique works, when it is and isn’t available, and why one would use it. So it’s not surprising to me when I hear clients, as well as their professional advisors, throw the term around recklessly and inappropriately. Read more.