The 5 Big Social Security Mistakes to Avoid Leading into Retirement

(don’t forget to checkout the video of this blog too)

For most retirees, social security is their primary source of guaranteed income.

That’s why it’s so important be strategic about when you take social security.

You also really want to be sure to avoid these 5 BIG mistakes that many people make in retirement with social security:

✅ Avoid Overpayments

The number 1 reason people get an overpayment letter is not knowing the annual earnings limit!

This means that they earned too much income while collecting social security.

Eventually SSA will track you down for this & make you pay the money back (with the penalties accounted for).

✅ Making Costly Mistakes with Spousal & Survivor Benefits

There is no added benefit waiting beyond full retirement age for the spousal benefit, but many people think there is.

This can cause a 3-year delay in retirement income from social security with no added benefit.

Also, many people don’t realize you can collect a survivor benefit at age 60 while delaying your own benefit.

This allows you to collect income while allowing you to fully maximize your own social security income.

✅ Not Checking Your Earnings Report

1.2 Trillion dollars has be unaccounted for since the inception of social security‼️

That means that a LOT of people leave money on the table simply because they don’t double-check the numbers social security has for their benefit. 🫣

✅ Not Considering the Tax on Social Security

Social security is taxed on what’s called “provisional income” and many people forget to count the taxes owed on social security income.

Up to 85% of your social security can be taxed as ordinary income, so you need to account for that tax bill.

If done correctly as part of a tax-free retirement strategy, you can collect all of your social security tax-free in many scenarios.

✅ Relying on the Social Security Administration for Financial Advice

While many SSA’s technicians understand social security, they don’t understand your finances.

They also aren’t financial advisors!

In 2018, 9,224 people were underpaid about $132 million dollars in benefits because of bad financial advice ⚠️

Let’s chat 💬😎