Several clients and friends have posed Social Security questions in the last several weeks. While Social Security is a broad and deep topic, this week we highlight some of the major themes and questions raised.
The Investment Return on Delaying Social Security. “For those who do live a long time the decision to delay Social Security can produce real (inflation-adjusted) returns of 4%, 5% or even 6% for those who live into their 90s and beyond…Viewed in this manner, the reality is that for those whose greatest retirement “risk” is living far past life expectancy, the decision to delay Social Security can actually be a highly beneficial investment….it’s worth noting that because the value of the Social Security delay decision is contingent on how long someone lives, it is clearly not beneficial for those who are in poor health or are otherwise not optimistic about living a long time.”
File-And-Suspend Social Security Benefits Strategies for Individuals, Couples, and the Family. The primary purpose of pursuing this strategy is that, by filing for benefits (then suspending), an individual can render his/her spouse eligible for spousal benefits, while the first individual can still earn delayed retirement credits. Financial blogger Michael Kitces examines how file-and-suspend works for different family profiles.
‘File-And-Suspend’: A Social Security Strategy Under Fire– The file-and-suspend strategy of claiming Social Security can increase your lifetime benefit. This strategy was approved by the United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton as part of a broader law called the Senior Citizens’ Freedom to Work Act of 2000. Now it is coming under fire.
What Female Retirees Don’t Know Can Hurt Them. Divorced spouses who were married longer than 10 years are entitled to Social Security benefits as an ex-spouse, as long as they are at least 62 and unmarried. Spousal benefits are worth up to half of the former spouses’ benefit amount at full retirement age. This is true even when the former spouse has re-married. If the former spouse has not yet filed for benefits, the divorced spouse can still receive benefits if the divorce was at least 2 years ago. Survivor benefits (generally, full benefits of the former spouse) also apply if the former spouse is deceased.
For more information about this from the Social Security Administration click the following link
And in case you missed it, click here to read last week’s blog post which focuses on some timeless investment wisdom.
We hope you enjoy reading these articles along with us and hope you find them informative. Please forward this to your family and friends.
J. Mark Nickell & Co.
Disclosure – The articles mentioned in This Week with J. Mark Nickell & Co. are for information and educational purposes only. They represent a sample of the numerous articles that the firm reads each week to stay current on financial and economic topics. The articles are linked to websites separate from the J. Mark Nickell & Co. website. The opinions expressed in these articles are the opinions of the author and not J. Mark Nickell & Co. This is not an offer to buy or sell any security. J. Mark Nickell & Co. is under no obligation to update any of the information in these articles. We cannot attest to the accuracy of the data in the articles.
