Are Couples Doing Enough Social Security Planning?

Most married couples in their sixties don’t know how to maximize their Social Security benefits and don’t know whether or not it’s appropriate to ask their financial planner for help with them, according to a new study.

Conducted by a retirement planning software company called SocialSecurityTiming.com, the study looked at 532 married couples between the ages of 60 and 66. Most of those interviewed said that they were unaware of strategies that might increase their lifetime Social Security benefits by up to $40,000.

Those couples with higher incomes and net-worths were more likely to be informed about how to maximize their benefits, reports Accounting Today. The same applied trend applied when couples were asked whether or not they would expect advice about Social Security from a financial planner.

Seventy-four percent of people who have a household income that exceeds $200,00 said they would expect to receive Social Security advice from a planner while only 48 percent of those with a household income less than $50,000 said they would.

In addition, 77 percent of those polled said they’d expect to get advice from the Social Security Administration itself, but the agency prohibits its representatives from giving advice to beneficiaries.

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Have you looked into maximizing your Social Security benefits?

If you need help with your Social Security Disability benefits, contact the Social Security Disability lawyers at Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin.