The Social Administration (SSA for short) can’t help you with your Social Security benefits. That sounds funny, I know, but they can’t.
What I mean is they can’t help you put a plan in place to maximize your benefits. An article in last year’s Wall Street Journal said it best, “The Social Security Administration isn't your financial advisor.”[1]
Every day 182,000 people visit an SSA office. They field 445,000 phone calls daily. In 2014, they received 17 million applications just for new and replacement cards. 59 million American received benefits last year.[2] The fine folks at the SSA are just trying to keep their heads above water!
But a plan is what everybody needs. Why? Because there’s a whole lot of money at stake and the rules are incredibly confusing. In my last blog post I shared this piece of info: if you’re married there are 567 different combinations of how and when you can file for your benefits.
You need a Social Security plan. If you have one, you’re 50% of the way there, but only 50%. That’s because for most people, Social Security will only provide around half of their retirement income. It could be more or less depending on your personal circumstances.
What’s your plan for the other 50% of the income you’ll need?
[1] “What You Don’t Know About Social Security But Should”, The Wall Street Journal, Monday June 23, 2014
[2] ibid
