Social Security

Only 4 percent of retirees make the financially optimal decision about when to claim Social Security. About 57 percent of retirees would build more wealth through their life if they waited to claim until they were 70 years old (when only 4 percent of retirees currently claim), while only 6.5 percent of retirees would have more wealth if they claimed prior to turning 64 (when over 70 percent of retirees currently claim benefits).

Current retirees will collectively lose an estimated $2.1 trillion in wealth because they made the sub-optimal decision about when to claim Social Security, or an average of $68,000 per household. Most retirees will lose wealth in their 60s and early 70s if they choose to optimize Social Security but will be wealthier in their late 70s through the rest of their lives.

Among those at the highest wealth levels, 99% make suboptimal claiming decisions. Yes, you read that right. Ninety-nine percent of higher-wealth households make suboptimal claiming decisions. While it’s true that wealthy individuals can afford to leave Social Security benefits on the table, what’s troubling is that they are not getting good advice from their financial advisors.

About 21 percent of those at risk of not affording retirement would see an improvement in their chances if they claimed Social Security at the optimal time. Among those retirees at risk that start with a greater than 10 percent chance of affording retirement, 95 percent see their chances of affording retirement improve by an average of 28 percent.

Medicare

What is Medicare? Medicare is health insurance for:

• People 65 or older
• Certain people under 65 with disabilities
• People of any age with End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) (permanent kidney failure requiring dialysis or a kidney transplant)

What are the different parts of Medicare?

It is important to understand your Medicare coverage choices and to pick your coverage carefully. How you choose to get your benefits and who you get them from can affect your out-of-pocket costs and where you can get your care. We can help you with these important decisions. Please contact us at (847) 256-8355 to find out how.