Unlock Your Social Security Potential with Clarity Financial Solutions
Maximizing Your Social Security Benefits
Social Security is a cornerstone of your retirement income, and making the right decisions can significantly impact your financial future. At Clarity Financial Solutions, we specialize in helping individuals nearing or in retirement understand, strategize, and maximize their Social Security benefits.
Your retirement financial security is our priority. Trust Clarity Financial Solutions to navigate the complexities of Social Security planning, and experience the clarity that comes with expert guidance.
Why Social Security Planning Matters
Social Security provides a reliable source of income during retirement, but the rules and options can be complex. Making informed choices can help you:
How Clarity Financial Solutions Can Help
Your retirement financial security is our priority. Trust Clarity Financial Solutions to navigate the complexities of Social Security planning, and experience the clarity that comes with expert guidance.
Our Social Security planning services are designed to empower you with the knowledge and strategies to make the most of your benefits.
Education
We explain the basics of Social Security, including how benefits are calculated, when you're eligible to claim, and the impact of early or delayed claiming.
Claiming Strategies
We evaluate your unique situation and present you with personalized claiming strategies to maximize your benefits.
Spousal and Survivor Benefits
We help married couples and widows/widowers explore options for optimizing spousal and survivor benefits.
Minimizing Taxes
We review strategies to minimize taxes on your Social Security income while maximizing overall retirement income.
Claiming Assistance
We guide you through the application process, ensuring your benefits are claimed correctly and on time.
Your Social Security Journey Starts Here
Planning for Social Security is an integral part of securing your financial future in retirement. Whether you’re about to retire or already receiving benefits, let’s talk about your options to optimize your Social Security strategy.
No matter how much you've managed to stash away for retirement so far, there's still a good chance that Social Security will make up a huge percentage of your income once you stop working.
That’s why Social Security maximization is such an important part of retirement planning. It’s about making sure you have enough to live comfortably in your golden years—which could be 30 years-plus after you retire!
To ensure you’re maximizing your benefits, Amanda Stilwell, CSA offers top-notch advisory services that can help you reach your goals as quickly as possible.
What is Social Security Maximization?
Put simply, social security maximization is a strategy that aims to maximize the total lifetime income you get from social security. To do this, you need to know what your options are and how each one affects your retirement security.
The process involves running through different scenarios to determine how taking social security benefits at different ages and in different combinations will affect your benefits over time. It can also describe spousal benefits and survivor benefits.
Why Is Social Security Maximization Important?
Social Security will account for a large portion of your retirement income during your golden years. In fact, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA), most Americans receive over 50% of their retirement income from their Social Security benefits. You must make the most of this program by understanding how it works and knowing which strategies can help boost your benefits for life.
National Social Security Advisors
Maximize Your Benefits
Your retirement financial security is our priority. Trust Clarity Financial Solutions to navigate the complexities of Social Security planning, and experience the clarity that comes with expert guidance.
As a National Social Security Advisor, Amanda can show you how to maximize your benefits by recommending the optimal age at which to claim them. She will also help you understand:
How much income you can get from Social Security and how it will change over time.
The impact Social Security has on your taxes, retirement savings strategies, and overall financial plan.
How to maximize spousal benefits and survivor benefits.
The best age for you to start receiving benefits.
Income limits and how they affect you.
What are the Rules?
The Social Security Administration (SSA) offers a wealth of information about its programs, but there are so many rules, restrictions, and exceptions that it is easy to become confused.
Income Limits
You should also consider the impact of your income on any potential benefits you might be eligible for. If your earnings exceed certain limits, your Social Security payments may be reduced or even withheld altogether. This is a common problem for high earners who choose to take early benefits and continue working until age 66 or even later (full retirement age).
Social Security Timing
You can choose to take early retirement at 62, but the reduced monthly payments may not be enough for you to live on. If you wait until “full retirement age” (66-67 currently), your payments will be higher. Even better, if you delay retirement past full retirement age until age 70, then your payments will be the maximum allowed by law — 32% higher than if you had taken payments at full retirement age!
Spousal Benefits
If you are married, you may be able to receive spousal benefits on your spouse’s work record. You can do this in addition to collecting Social Security on your work record or in lieu of benefits on your record.
Ex-spousal Benefits
The rules have changed in recent years. However, if you’ve been divorced for two years or more and were married for at least 10 years, you’re entitled to an ex-spousal benefit based on your former spouse’s work record.
