How to Read Your Social Security Statement: What Every Future Retiree Needs to Know Before Claiming Benefits
Why Your Social Security Statement Matters More Than You Think
Most Americans glance at their Social Security statement, look at the projected retirement benefit, and move on. Unfortunately, that quick glance can cause people to miss critical information that could impact their retirement income strategy for decades.
Your Social Security statement is much more than a benefit estimate. It contains details about your earnings history, retirement projections, disability coverage, survivor benefits, Medicare eligibility, and important assumptions that can significantly affect your future income.
Understanding how to read your statement can help you make better retirement decisions, identify potential errors, and create a more accurate retirement income plan.
How to Access Your Social Security Statement
Years ago, Social Security statements arrived in the mail annually. Today, most people access them online through their Social Security account at SSA.gov.
Creating an online account allows you to view your earnings history, review retirement projections, estimate benefits under different scenarios, check for errors in reported income, and monitor your Social Security record.
Even if retirement is years away, establishing an account now can help prevent future surprises.
The First Thing Most People Miss: Benefit Estimates Are Based on Assumptions
One of the most important details on your Social Security statement is often overlooked.
The retirement benefit estimates shown on your statement are generally based on the assumption that you will continue earning approximately the same income you earned most recently until you begin collecting benefits.
This assumption can dramatically affect the projected numbers.
For example, if you retire early and stop working, your actual future benefit may be lower than projected. If your income increases later in your career, your actual benefit may be higher than projected. If you are laid off or experience a career change, projections may no longer reflect reality.
Many people look at the estimate shown for age 67 or age 70 and assume it is guaranteed. In reality, those projections depend heavily on future earnings assumptions.
That is why it is important to log into your Social Security account and use the online calculators to model different income scenarios.
Understanding Retirement Benefit Estimates
Your statement typically displays estimated benefits at several claiming ages, including age 62, Full Retirement Age, and age 70.
The difference between claiming ages can be substantial. Many retirees are surprised to learn that delaying benefits from age 62 to age 70 can increase monthly income significantly.
However, there is no universal “best” age to claim. The optimal strategy depends on your health, life expectancy, marital status, other retirement assets, employment plans, income needs, tax situation, and spouse’s benefit history.
Social Security claiming should be coordinated with the rest of your retirement income plan rather than viewed in isolation.
You Can Claim in More Than Just Three Ages
Many people assume Social Security only offers claiming options at ages 62, Full Retirement Age, or 70. That is not true.
You can generally begin benefits during any eligible month between those ages. Your benefit amount adjusts based on the exact month you claim. Even a few months can make a difference in your monthly benefit.
This flexibility creates additional planning opportunities for retirees who are trying to coordinate withdrawals, taxes, pensions, or other income sources.
The 35-Year Rule That Many People Forget
Social Security retirement benefits are based on your highest 35 years of earnings.
If you worked fewer than 35 years, zero-income years are included in the calculation. Additional working years can replace lower-income years. Higher earnings later in your career can also boost future benefits.
Many workers underestimate how valuable a few additional years of employment can be when they replace years with lower earnings or zero earnings.
Why You Must Verify Your Earnings History
One of the most valuable sections of the statement is your earnings record. The Social Security Administration uses your reported earnings history to calculate future benefits.
If those records contain errors, your benefits may be affected.
Reviewing your earnings history allows you to confirm reported income is accurate, identify missing earnings years, correct reporting errors, and protect future benefits.
If you notice inaccuracies, it is generally easier to resolve them sooner rather than years later when supporting documentation may be harder to locate.
Social Security Is More Than a Retirement Program
Many people think of Social Security only as a retirement benefit. In reality, it also functions as a major insurance program.
Disability Benefits
If a worker becomes disabled before retirement age, Social Security Disability Insurance may provide benefits. Many workers are surprised to learn that disability benefits can be substantial and often resemble the retirement benefit they would have received at Full Retirement Age.
This protection is one reason Social Security cannot be compared directly to a personal investment account. Social Security provides risk protection that individual retirement accounts generally do not.
Survivor Benefits
Social Security also provides survivor benefits for eligible spouses and family members. These benefits can be incredibly valuable if a worker dies prematurely.
Survivor benefits may help spouses, dependent children, and certain qualifying family members.
These protections are often overlooked when people evaluate the value of Social Security.
Understanding Family Benefit Limits
Your statement may mention a maximum family benefit amount. This section sometimes causes unnecessary concern.
Some people worry that ex-spouses, current spouses, and dependent children might somehow compete for the same pool of benefits. In most situations, Social Security rules are more nuanced than that.
The family maximum generally relates to certain dependent benefits and does not necessarily reduce benefits payable under separate qualifying provisions.
Medicare and Social Security: Related but Separate
Your statement also references Medicare eligibility. Many people incorrectly assume Medicare and Social Security must begin simultaneously. They do not.
It is possible to enroll in Medicare while delaying Social Security benefits. This strategy is common among individuals who want to maximize future Social Security income while still avoiding Medicare enrollment penalties.
Understanding the timing differences between these programs is an important part of retirement planning.
How Much Have You Contributed?
Your statement also shows lifetime payroll taxes contributed to Social Security and Medicare. Many workers find this section fascinating.
However, it is important to remember that Social Security is not structured like a personal savings account. The amount you contribute does not directly determine the amount you receive.
Instead, the program uses a formula designed to provide benefits across retirement, disability, and survivor situations.
Cost-of-Living Adjustments Matter
Another important detail is that the benefit estimates on your statement typically do not include future cost-of-living adjustments.
As inflation occurs, benefits may increase through annual COLA adjustments. This means actual future benefit amounts may ultimately be higher than the figures currently shown on your statement.
Although future inflation rates are unknown, retirees should understand that today’s estimate is not necessarily the final amount they may receive.
Why Social Security Should Be Part of a Larger Retirement Strategy
One of the biggest mistakes retirees make is viewing Social Security as a standalone decision.
Social Security should be coordinated with 401(k) withdrawals, IRA distributions, pensions, tax planning strategies, investment portfolios, Required Minimum Distributions, and spousal benefits.
The claiming decision affects not only monthly income but also taxes, portfolio longevity, and long-term retirement security.
A comprehensive retirement income plan considers how all these moving pieces work together.
Will Social Security Still Be There?
Questions about Social Security’s long-term financial health are common. While future reforms may occur, Social Security remains a foundational component of retirement planning for millions of Americans.
The Social Security Administration notes that future benefits are based on current law and that Congress may modify the program in the future.
Because future changes are uncertain, retirees should focus on making informed decisions using today’s rules while remaining flexible as legislation evolves.
Action Steps to Take Today
- Create or access your Social Security account.
- Download your current statement.
- Verify your earnings history for accuracy.
- Review retirement projections carefully.
- Model different future earnings scenarios.
- Understand your disability and survivor benefits.
- Coordinate Social Security with your overall retirement income plan.
Frequently Asked Questions About Social Security Statements
How often should I review my Social Security statement?
At least annually. Reviewing your statement each year can help identify earnings errors and keep retirement projections current.
Can I collect Social Security before Full Retirement Age?
Yes. Many people become eligible at age 62, although claiming early generally results in a permanently reduced benefit.
What happens if I stop working before claiming Social Security?
Your future benefit may be lower than the estimate shown if the estimate assumes continued earnings.
How many years of work count toward Social Security?
Your highest 35 years of earnings are used to calculate retirement benefits.
Can Social Security records contain mistakes?
Yes. While uncommon, errors can occur. Reviewing your earnings history periodically helps ensure accuracy.
Does Social Security include disability benefits?
Yes. Social Security provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits under qualifying circumstances.
Do I have to start Medicare when I claim Social Security?
No. Medicare and Social Security are related but separate programs, and enrollment timing can differ.
Should I claim Social Security at age 62?
There is no universal answer. The best claiming age depends on your personal financial situation, health, longevity expectations, and retirement goals.
Final Thoughts
Your Social Security statement is one of the most important retirement planning documents you will ever receive. Yet many people never fully review it.
By understanding the assumptions behind the numbers, verifying your earnings history, and integrating Social Security into a broader retirement income strategy, you can make more informed decisions that may positively impact your retirement for years to come.
Daniel Wendol
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Most people get their social security statement once a year. They look at it topline number and then they put it away. But there’s so much information on there that’s critical to retirement success. And understanding how these work and don’t work is very important if you’re looking to retire soon or you’re just getting ready to retire now. And I’m going to go through today line by line on an actual social security statement so that you understand what is written in here and what’s not and help
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you make smarter decisions about social security using the data that’s available to you. Now you may not even have your statement. They used to send them out, remember? Well, now they send them out when you hit age 60. Speaking of hitting age 60, let me bring in my co-host, Tony Shaw. Tony, welcome to the show. We’re talking about these social security statements. Did you get one in the mail when you turned 60? >> Well, I did not >> actually. >> And there’s a reason for that. They send
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it out in the mail. Remember, they used to send it out every year. >> Yeah. >> You know, when back when they were on that green paper. >> I I get in my mailbox. I remember. It’s been years since I’ve gotten one, but I used to go out the mailbox. Social Security. I’m not old. RIP. Toss. >> Right. >> Yeah. And >> probably should I don’t know if I should have been paying attention, but I didn’t. So, >> well, what they do is they send it out
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for to people age 60 about three months before your birthday in the mail. >> Um, >> never got it. >> Unless you have an online account. So, you must have opened an online account. >> I do. I’ve had one for couple years. >> I made you open it. I remember. >> You did. You walked me through it. Yeah. >> So, SSA.gov Gov is where you would create your online account. And you can get this paper statement online there, not ssa.com. Don’t make that mistake because that’s
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that’s not going to get you right. Gov for government. All right. So, you’re looking at now and I’m going to do is I’m going to share my screen because looking at the paper statement isn’t very helpful on the camera. I’m going to actually put it on my screen. Can you see that, Tony? It’s your social security statement. This is for Wanda Worker. Remember her and it’s showing this is exact statement that you will get. I’m going to go through this line by line. >> I know Wanda by the way.
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>> Everyone knows Wanda. Wanda has enough credits to retire. You can see that right away. This top left corner. Everyone looks at the chart first, but let’s skip to some really useful information that people don’t realize. Retirement benefits. Retirement benefits. Top left. you’ve you’ve earned enough to qualify. So, you have to earn 40 credits to qualify. Yeah. >> If you don’t, then you don’t get social security. And you can only get four years. So, you got to work 10 years. Not
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sequentially, but you got to work 10 years. And her full retirement age is 67, which is full retirement age for most people that are watching this now currently 2026, right? They may raise that full retirement age, but she could claim at 62 on her own all the way up to 67. And here’s what people miss on this little section. They skip it. This bottom paragraph says, “These personalized estimates for Wanda Worker are based on your earnings to date and assume you continue to earn 54,489 per year until you start your benefits.”
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And I want to point out that that number is what you showed on your taxes the previous year. And they’re projecting you’re going to make that until you actually turn on social security. >> Sure. >> Very important to know that because what if you say, “I’m not working anymore. I got laid off. I quit. I retired. But I’m going to hold off until my social security down the road.” The numbers that they’re showing on here are not accurate at that point because it’s
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assuming you’re still going to be working when you’re not. >> Right. So, real quick tip. If you want to know what will my benefit be in the future if I stop working now and don’t make anything, you can log in, change your estimated earnings to zero, and then see what that does to the numbers in the future. >> I get it. It’s a problem because this this is deceiving. What you’re saying is this is deceiving because let’s say I want to retire at 65, but I want to let
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it keep rolling up until my full retirement age at 67 or until I can get the maximum amount 70 at age 70, but I’ve already retired. I I’m not earning that 54 or $55,000 a year. >> So, these numbers aren’t accurate for that. So, you have to go online and there’s a way to find that number. You can use an estimator and change your income level to whatever you want it to be. In this case, zero if you’re retired. >> Sure. >> And then it’ll update the numbers in the
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future. So this chart on the right, which is where everyone goes to cuz it’s eye-catching. They didn’t have the chart in the past. This is all new. I’m new what, like 5 years. So on the right, you’ll see this little bar graph. It shows if you take it at 62, she’ll get 1465. If she takes it at a full retirement age, it’s 2,119. And then if she waits all the way to 70, that’s 2,634. What does this what does this assume? It assumes she continues to work at $54,000 a year
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until she turns it on. So that’s that’s the first little hiccup that people need to understand when they’re looking at this statement. Make sense? >> Yeah. because you might not you might fully intend to keep working until age 70, but you don’t necessarily get to make that decision. Unfortunately, sometimes your company or your boss makes that decision for you. You get laid off or your health you what depending on what you do for a living, you might not be able to keep doing it
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until you’re 70. >> On the flip side, your income might go up, your salary might go up as you get older and continue to work. So these numbers can be lower than what they’re going to be because you don’t have the salary shown there. That’s accurate. So >> that’s right. That’s right. The other thing that this doesn’t show are cost of living adjustment increases the colas. So this is just showing based on no cola. So odds are these numbers are going to be higher anyway just based on
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inflation which is not projected in this. So that’s that’s this part here. Oh and Tony just because it says 62 63 64 you don’t have to wait until your birth month to claim. You can claim any month in between. So there’s 96 months or whatever it is that you can claim and the number >> change the amount as well. >> That’s right. That’s right. >> But the bar graph showed I would get this much. Well, you retired two months before your birthday or six months
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after. So the month the you know >> every two months the number changes, right? >> Exactly. And it’s based on a formula of your top 35 working years history. And if you haven’t worked 35 years, you’re going to have a zero in there. They don’t they don’t just take the average of what you have worked. It’s 35 years including zeros. So, it’s important to look at that and say, “54,000, that’s what I made.” Yeah, it’s right. Correct. You can go online and check your work
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history. I remember I had a guy come in and say, “Here’s what my social security statement says, but it’s wrong because they have my salary wrong from the 1980s, 1984 or whatever it was.” And I said, “Wow, how do you know that?” He’s like, “The only reason why I know that is because I was an NFL player, a kicker, and I made the league minimum, which was I forget what it was. I think he said like 16,000 at that time and this says I only made eight or whatever
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it was. So he’s so he’s like what do I do? I’m like well that’s good you noticed that you’re going to have to fight it and you can go and appeal. So he went through the appeals process. I never really followed up with them to find out what happened. But that that’s an interesting reason you want to log in and check this to check to see make sure your work history is correct. >> Yeah, it’s not always correct. Um, actually back when I was still getting paper statements, I did look at one and
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it was there was a huge mistake on there >> and I emailed the person and then had to go through rigor and h >> pays and all that. >> Oh man, but it was fixed. But yeah, I’ve I’ve had a a mistake made. Yeah. And on my credit on my credit report just reminds me those two things were a pain. You got to check those two things, your social security statement and your credit reports. >> Exactly. Exactly. So, moving down. So, if you want to see what it would be at different months within, you can go
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online and do that. You could say, “Show me if I make this much money going forward, if I make zero money.” And you could play with it. But on this paper version or the online version, which is the same one they send in the mail, >> you can only see per year. But just know that that’s going to change. Um, looking at the left column now, we’re at disability benefits. It says for Wanda Worker, if you become disabled right now, you’ll get 283. And so, wow. Okay. I’m going it’s really
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going to be close to what her full retirement age benefit. Even if she would was to become disabled at age 55, the disability benefit’s going to be way higher than if she was to try and earn social security at 55. Interesting. >> I think this is really important when people are thinking and we’ve done shows on it. You know, social security is going bankrupt. Give me my money. I’ll reinvest it. I make more. I wish I would have taken that money and put it in my own fund. I would have done better than
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social security. What people fail to realize is that social security is also insurance. If you become disabled, you get your benefit as if you waited till 67 roughly and you didn’t put nearly enough in to get that. So that’s kind of why not everyone gets everything they put in, but some people get a whole lot more than they put in. It’s a fallback. It’s it’s a social service program. So, it’s not just a 401k style plan. There is some insurance there to protect the disabled.
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Um, also survivors, that’s another reason why Social Security is struggling to keep up and oh yeah, I could do a whole lot better if I’m if I’m investing on my own. But what if you die and your survivor surviving spouse who didn’t put any in doesn’t have any money? They get a social security benefit or a minor child if you’re if they’re if you’re old enough and have young enough children. So survivor benefits are in there and it shows you what your survivor benefit
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would be right now. So people forget that they like to harp on this last one. By the way, Tony, $255 is the onetime death uh to pay for, you know, >> don’t we have a sound effect for that? 255 death benefit. Um, you can’t buy an earn for $255. That’s the cardboard box. And the funeral home, they have a minimum fee that’s above that. So, you’re not going to be able to I don’t know what you’re going to do at that point. >> Yeah. Um, we did a whole show on that.
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I’ll put it up here for those interested on the whole death benefit thing. That was great in 1940s. Um, not so good now. No inflation. >> When you when you say Social Security death benefit, can you say those three words without laughing or without uh putting air quotes around benefit? Wait, that’s a benefit? >> Is it the price of a stamp or is that the death benefit? Um, there’s another thing on this little section here, Tony, that people miss, and that’s the or they
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get scared about. Total family benefits cannot exceed $3,800 for Wanda worker. Oh, wow. What does that mean? I what if what does that I don’t understand what what if I have an ex-spouse or two ex- spouses pulling from me? My my current spouse is not going to get get capped out. My kids aren’t going to get it. No, that’s so that 3,800 is what it’s about 150 so percent of your benefit is what can be paid out to minor children or your spouse. Um now minor children only get it until 16. So if you have a
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20-year-old or a 30-year-old that’s considered a dependent. Um you know that they don’t get social security for you. So um but people get scared. Oh my god, I have my ex-wife’s going to be pulling away from my current family. you know that that’s not how it works. Separate um section on the right Medicare separate program but it’s administered similarly. So I want to point out that age 65 is social is Medicare. Age 62 is when you can qualify for um social security unless you’re disabled. You can
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get social security earlier than 62 if you’re disabled. You can also get Medicare earlier if you’re disabled once you’re on medic uh social security for two years. you’ll get thrown on Medicare. You could be on Medicare at age 40. You don’t want to be, but you could be. Um, and they just put that in here just to remind people that Medicare and Social Security are kind of go hand in hand. A lot of people don’t realize you could claim Medicare and not be on Social Security.
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You don’t have to do both. You could do one or the other. At 65, I recommend you you get on Social Security of Medicare so you’re not paying a penalty. So, >> yeah. Let’s skip on to page two, unless you had any questions about that. Tony, you see anything on there? >> No. Medicare, uh, it’s interesting because it is tied to Social Security. People don’t realize that, but I mean, people who are retired definitely know all about it, but your money, your that that monthly premium, that $22, uh, is
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taken right out of your Social Security check. Right. >> That’s right. But if you’re not on social security, they still bill you and you have to set up a payment plan be either a into the social security or you send a check in for 3 months in advance. So you get a bill if you’re not on social security. If you’re on social security, they’ll just take it directly from your social security check. Uh okay, page two on this earnings record. This is what we were talking about earlier. you on the left side you
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could see all right Wanda she was working since 1971 now she didn’t make a lot then um from 1971 to 1980 she didn’t have much income at all she was probably a early teen and then she started making money and they used to have it every year now they they bunch them in years 10 and then they show you the last 20 so >> this is where you can look and say oh yeah that seems about right and check the math but if you want to look and say no I think the 1980 85 number is wrong. Well, I don’t even know what the 1985
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number is. You can log in and see the full work history and then you can compare >> because they just summarize there. I didn’t realize they just summarized and didn’t list all the individual years. I guess if they did, they’d need like 10 more pages or something. So, >> they’re trying they’re trying to consolidate and who who cares what they made when they were 17 years old in high school, I guess. I don’t know. >> But but yeah, that’s interesting. Yeah,
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I think I think uh I think this Wanda should ask for a raise. I’m just looking at the numbers. >> Well, that’s the other thing, Tony. Okay, in 2001, she made 34,000 >> and and so Oh, man. My be really really low. >> These are remember it’s inflation adjusted. So, Social Social Security factors that in >> the cap in 2001 was not 180,000 or whatever it is. It’s much lower. So it’s a formula but it does favor the lower earning person. >> Yeah. >> So the less money you make
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um as a employee, the less money you put in. It’s a percentage, right? But dollar for dollar you put in a lot less than someone making 100k versus 30. Sure. >> But when you go to turn it on as a percentage of your earnings, you’re going to get more back quicker. >> Yeah. I don’t have a problem with that. I think people Yeah. I mean, the people the people who need it a little more get the the people who need it more are going to get a a little bigger percentage. That’s
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>> right. And especially if they’re disabled, they’re going to get a whole lot bigger percentage than what they put. >> Well, yeah. I mean, and they’re still probably not going to get I mean, that still could be more. I mean, I think it’s good. I I think that’s really good that disabled are some have some insurance through social security if you’re disabled, >> right? And you can’t compare apples to apples with a private pension versus social security because of the social
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fall the safety nets built in. >> At the bottom left of the second page, it shows you the taxes she’s paid in. So Wanda workers paid in $75,000 into social security in her life. So you know like oh that’s not that’s not a lot she put in. Um her employer put in a little bit more. The employer matches, right? So people forget that. Self-employed people didn’t forget that such as myself. Any money I’m putting in W2 from my companies, my company is also matching it. So as the owner of the
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company, I’m getting double hit on it. Most people don’t realize that their employer is paying just as much as they are for their social security benefit. Same with Medicare taxes. It shows you what you put in for Medicare. >> Oh, >> and the employer matches that, too. So it’s important to look at this and say, “Oh, okay. I put in 75,000. Let’s go back up. How much is Wanda going to get? Maybe she gets 2,000 when she takes it. So, she’s going to get 24,000 a year and
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she put in 75,000. Quick math says after four years she’s ahead of the game, right? So, this is again this social security is really powerful. You need to understand it because this is a big part of people’s income. For some, it’s their only income. >> Yeah. And then on the last but not least, >> yeah, it’s very serious for almost everybody. So many Americans, a huge percentage of their retirement income is social security for so many people, but it’s not supposed to be everything.
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It’s not supposed to be your only income. And that’s what they say here in the bullets on the right on the second page. First statement is social security is not supposed to be your only source of retirement income, right? It goes through how many credits you need. 40. We said that’s just 10 years. Tells you the 30 top 35 years. It mentions that there’s a zero if you don’t have 35 years. Um it tells you that there are cost of living adjustments, but those aren’t shown. We don’t know what they’re
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going to be. You can project. I have software that projects it. I kind of use 2.8 because that’s been the average, but you can use whatever you want. Uh when you’re projecting social security, it tells you there’s a calculator that you can use. A lot of people don’t realize that. They just say, “Oh, this is the statement.” And they accept it as gospel. No. Get in there and play around with it. Your financial planner should be using a social security software to kind of see how it fits into your
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retirement planning. You got to be doing this. And you got to be checking these numbers to make sure they’re accurate. And you don’t have to claim it at 62. You can wait till 70. You know, we’ve done countless shows on should I take it early, should I take it late, when’s the best time. You got to do it. And there’s mention here about divorced. >> Yeah, I like that. I was looking at that. I’m glad that they actually talk about divorce benefits and some of those benefits. Uh because a lot of people
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don’t understand what they’re entitled to. And I mean, this simplifies it and doesn’t really go into some of the details that people need to know for that. They just need to go back and listen to some of our past shows that you’ve done. >> And uh >> yeah, I’ll put the all the shows up here in in the in the a playlist. You can watch them all, but we do a lot of shows on spousal benefits, survivor benefits, expouse, you know, could can I get benefits if I get remarried? Yes, you
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can. I mean, it is a lot of things that people don’t realize, but there’s a lot of good information on this social security uh report. >> There really is. There’s more than I thought there would be. But if somebody didn’t get that, they can go on to ssa.gov or ssa.gov gov. You got to go to the.gov site and um that’s the official Social Security Administration site and they can get all this information as well. They can see this document right >> for their work. It’s them their own
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system, their own history, >> right? >> I would say open up the social security account. Do it. Go through the process. You got to prove who you are and so forth. It’s kind of kind of a pain for some people, but just do it. This way you have access to it and no one else does, right? You beat them to it. Check your history for errors. That’s the second thing I would do. The first thing I do once I log in, check my history, work history for errors. Then I would say, “All right, play around. Change the
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the uh benefit amount based on your earnings. Get a feel for what your retirement benefits at 62, 67, 70.” And then I would bring this statement to your financial planner and say, “Here, this is what I got. here’s my spouses or whatever. How does this fit in? Because it’s got to fit into the big picture plan. Otherwise, you’re not doing it right. You can’t look at it as a silo. It’s got to be built in. And I know a lot of people are going to say, “Oh, it’s not even going to be there for us.
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We just did a show on, you know, viability.” And we’re going to do another show soon once the 2026 viability report comes out. I have a feeling it’s going to go um it’s going to become insolvent even sooner. I’m guessing 2032. But you still got to use it, right? It’s still there. You got to use it. So the only caveat I would say, Tony, is this is all based on 2026 tax law. This is based on the rules. This can all change. We don’t know. But so there’s no guarantee that what you see on this
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paper is going to be accurate. Um, and they even say that here. Look it at the at the very bottom of the first page. We base benefits on current law which Congress has revised before and may revise again to adjust changes. So, >> no, the government change it up. >> They’re they’re covering themselves. >> I love the disclaimer. Hey, this might change tomorrow, so whatever. >> Yeah. So, that’s how you go through the report. And if you if you want, I recommend downloading your report and
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then going through it. Re replay this, pause it, go through, and if you don’t understand something on here, give me a call. Uh 888-508-5935. You can contact us at dolphinfinancgroup.com and say, “Hey, I want to get a social security maximization report. I went through mine. I have a question. What do I do? What are other people doing?” And I’ll create a report to go back to you and you can take that to the social security office and talk to them or take it to your accountant and be like, “Hey, what
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about this?” So, you should be using this statement for you as the uh what’s the what’s the word I’m thinking of? the center point, the focus, the >> the focus of your the foundation should be the foundation >> of your retirement income plan. So, go get it. Log >> real quick. So, do you you have um do you run uh a social security maximization report for people? >> Yes. >> That you meet with. >> So, I take the data that you provide from this. >> I put it in my software. I have a couple
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different programs I use. >> Sure. and I generate a social security report that says based on your marriage history, based on your current situation, based on your work history and the numbers that you have at Social Security, here’s the top three strategies for you on how to claim social security and what to do with it >> and then I can guideline. It’s not necessarily what you have to do, >> right? But it is based on some of your personal information and then you can take you can go beyond that and and look
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at time horizons and goals and things and say well this strategy even though they recommend it you have a particular goal and time horizon and retirement strategy. So that one’s out and I think the guidance is what people need but um there are people out there that can do that. Make sure you go with somebody who’s you know knows what they’re doing and I think they should watch some of your past shows too. Yeah. And if your adviser hasn’t asked you for this data, >> that’s a that’s a red flag because maybe
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they don’t specialize in retirement income. We just did a show on that. So, you want to have someone that’s curious about this. So, I I don’t work for social security office. That’s to make that clear. I’m not a government employee and I can’t go on login and get your data. You have to get your own statement and then provide it to me. Then I can build the reports to supplement that and augment that. So, yeah, happy to do it. Looking forward to hearing from you. If you’re watching,
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you got questions, contact me. Otherwise, Tony, thanks for a good show and thanks for being a good sport. You know, being 60 first, you have to be you’re the vanguard of this of this relationship, Tony. Here we go. >> Enjoy the rest of the week, everybody.