Are your clients ready for their Social Security Administration visit?

If you ask 10 different people about their experience with the Social Security Administration (SSA), you’ll get 10 different answers.

The truth is, there is no one typical experience. Each claimant’s experience depends on the representative they interact with and how well versed that person is on the benefits.

Typically the SSA provides general advice, not advice that would maximize the claimant’s benefit. They do not offer any guidance regarding strategies for maximizing couples’ filings. In fact, retirees don’t exactly know how much they will actually receive until they file—up to that point all of the numbers are estimates.

How advisors can support clients

With all these questions, it’s clear future retirees need support. Even though advisors don’t actually file for their clients, they play a crucial role in maximizing their clients’ Social Security benefits. And this is important because, even when combined with other retirement investment assets, Social Security makes up a significant portion of many retirees’ incomes.

Advisors can help their clients prepare to claim their benefits by:

• Determining the ideal age for them to file
• Coordinating (ex)spousal strategies that maximize benefits
• Helping clients prepare and bring the right materials to their filing meeting at the SSA

The LifeYield approach

LifeYield provides an easy-to-use tool that advisors can utilize with their clients and examine all filing strategies available for each specific Social Security case to find the strategy that will maximize their Social Security benefits. With LifeYield Social Security Advantage®, advisors can run as many scenarios and reports as they wish so that their clients can examine all of the possible outcomes and select the one that will be best for their retirement.

Adding this tool to an advisor’s capabilities increases the advisors’ value to their clients. It gives clients a more complete picture of their retirement income so that they can feel confident in their retirement income. Clients should be encouraged to take their LifeYield Social Security Advantage report with them which contains detailed filing instructions to their Social Security Administration appointment so that they can ensure they file accurately.

The LifeYield Social Security Advantage tool is available to both advisors and plan sponsors to help their clients enjoy their personal LifeYield tax-smart retirement income throughout their retirements.To learn more about this product, click here.