5 Considerations for a Successful Social Security Strategy

Sep 20, 2023 | Retirement Planning

5 Considerations for a Successful Social Security Strategy

Considerations for a Successful Social Security Strategy

When it comes to deciding when to claim your benefits and plan your Social Security strategy, there are several key factors to consider. These factors can greatly impact the amount of benefits you receive and your overall financial security in retirement. In this article, we will explore five essential elements that should be a part of your Social Security strategy: age, employment, marital status, taxes, and needs. Understanding how these factors come into play can help you make informed decisions about your Social Security benefits.

1. AGE

Age is crucial in your Social Security strategy. Your monthly benefit depends on lifetime earnings and when you claim. Early claims reduce payments while waiting until age 70 increases them with delayed retirement credits and cost-of-living adjustments. Full Retirement Age (FRA) varies by birth year and serves as the benchmark for receiving your full, unreduced benefit. Planning your Social Security strategy around your FRA can help you make informed decisions about when to claim benefits based on your individual circumstances and financial goals.

2. EMPLOYMENT STATUS

One of the most critical considerations when planning a Social Security strategy is the impact of working while claiming benefits. Understanding the earnings limitations is paramount; claiming benefits before reaching full retirement age (FRA) while earning above the limit can result in reduced Social Security payments, affecting your overall income. Moreover, working can influence your lifetime benefits, with the potential for both temporary reductions due to earnings limits and increases through delayed retirement credits if you continue to work past your FRA. Working while claiming Social Security benefits is a complex but crucial consideration when planning your retirement strategy. It requires a careful balance between income needs, tax considerations, and your long-term financial goals.

 3. MARITAL STATUS

Marital status plays a pivotal role in planning for Social Security benefits, with significant differences in how benefits are calculated and accessed. Married individuals often have access to spousal and survivor benefits, which can bolster their combined retirement income. Coordinating when and how each spouse claims benefits becomes crucial to optimizing the household’s Social Security strategy. Conversely, single individuals have no spousal benefits to consider but may have more control over their claiming decisions. Divorced or widowed individuals also have unique considerations, as they can often claim benefits based on their ex-spouse’s or deceased spouse’s work record. Overall, understanding these distinctions in marital status is essential for tailoring a Social Security plan that aligns with your individual and family financial goals and needs in retirement.

4. TAXES

Including tax considerations in your Social Security strategy makes a difference. Taxes can significantly impact your benefits, depending on your modified adjusted gross income (MAGI). This can potentially push you into a higher tax bracket. Careful planning is essential to minimize this tax burden, so be sure to assess the tax implications before claiming benefits. While taxes shouldn’t solely dictate your timing, understanding their impact on your after-tax retirement income is vital. Exploring strategies like early voluntary withdrawals from retirement accounts to manage tax thresholds can help align your Social Security strategy with your unique financial circumstances and goals.

5. FINANCIAL NEEDS

Considering your financial needs is another key aspect of your Social Security strategy. To determine the right retirement timing, assess the cost of sustaining your desired lifestyle without full-time work. Calculate income from external earnings, Social Security, and investments to cover your expenses. Consider factors like inflation, emergency funds, healthcare costs, and long-term care provisions to ensure your financial plan is robust and adaptable to changing circumstances.

 

Find Support for Your Social Security Strategy

Jill Mollner, MBA, CFP®

Your Social Security strategy should be a well-thought-out plan that takes into account your age, employment, marital status, tax considerations, and financial needs. Each of these factors plays a significant role in determining the optimal time to claim your benefits and ultimately influence your financial well-being during retirement. Your financial advisor can help you thoughtfully evaluate your situation and determine a strategy to optimize your Social Security benefits. 

Contact our office for further guidance and insights.

Call 605-357-8553 or email cfsteam@mycfsgroup.com.

Neither Raymond James Financial Services nor any Raymond James Financial Advisor renders advice on tax issues, these matters should be discussed with the appropriate professional.

Opinions expressed are those of the author and are not necessarily those of Raymond James. All opinions are as of this date and are subject to change without notice. The information has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but we do not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete.
CSP #282179 Exp. 9.17.25

7 Rules for Inherited IRAs

Sep 11, 2023 | Retirement Planning

7 RULES FOR INHERITED IRAS

Cornerstone is pleased to bring you this article by Ed Slott and Company, LLC, an organization providing IRA education and analysis to financial advisors, institutions, consumers, and media across the country. Our association with this organization helps us stay up to date on the latest developments in IRA and tax law. As always, give us a call if you’d like to discuss!

By Sarah Brenner, JD
Director of Retirement Education, Ed Slott and Company, LLC

Many IRA assets will ultimately go to nonspouse beneficiaries. When these beneficiaries inherit the funds, special rules kick in. Inherited IRAs are not like your own personal IRA account.

Seven rules for inherited IRAs that may surprise you if you are a nonspouse beneficiary:

1. You cannot contribute to your inherited IRA. You cannot make contributions to an inherited IRA. If you do have your own IRA, you cannot add those funds to the Inherited IRA or vice versa.

2. You can move your inherited IRA. If you are unhappy with the investment choices or the custodian, you can move your inherited IRA to another custodian, and you can select different investment options. However, you must move the account by direct transfer, and the new account must be an inherited IRA as well. As a nonspouse beneficiary, you cannot take a distribution and then roll it over within 60 days.

3. You may be able to do a QCD. If you are charitably inclined, you may be able to take advantage of a qualified charitable distribution (QCD) and move up to $100,000 of your IRA funds (annually) directly to the charity of your choice in a tax-free transfer. To do a QCD you must be 70 ½ or older.

4. You cannot convert your inherited IRA. Many times nonspouse beneficiaries are interested in having a Roth IRA. Unfortunately, the rules do not allow nonspouse IRA beneficiaries to convert inherited IRAs to Roth IRAs.

5. You may be subject to annual required distributions, or the 10-year rule at a minimum. You can’t keep the funds in your inherited IRA forever. If you inherited the IRA funds in 2020 or later, as a nonspouse beneficiary you will most like be subject to a 10-year payout-period, possibly with annual RMDs during the 10 year period. Certain eligible designated beneficiaries who inherit in 2020 or later and those beneficiaries who inherited prior to 2020 may be still be able to stretch RMDs over life expectancy.

6. Your distributions may be taxable, but there will be no penalty. Inherited IRAs are never subject to the 10% early distribution penalty. However, if you inherit a traditional IRA, it is likely that the distributions you take will be taxable. If you inherit a Roth IRA, you are more fortunate from a tax perspective. Distributions from an inherited Roth IRA will most likely be tax-free.

7. You should name a successor beneficiary. When you inherit an IRA, it makes sense to name a beneficiary. If you don’t, the default provisions in the IRA document are likely to apply. In many cases this would mean the funds would go to your estate which can mean more taxes and the time and expense of probate.

Gordon Wollman and Ed Slott

Gordon Wollman, Founder and President of Cornerstone Financial Solutions, and Raymond James Wealth Advisor, with Ed Slott at the 2023 Spring workshop for members of Ed Slott’s Elite and Master Elite IRA Advisor Group℠.

Membership in Ed Slott’s Elite IRA Advisor Group(TM)  is one of the tools our advisors use to help you avoid unnecessary taxes and fees on your retirement dollars. Gordon attends in-depth technical training on advanced retirement account planning strategies and estate planning techniques. And semiannual workshops analyzing the most recent tax law changes, case studies, private letter rulings, Congressional action and Supreme Court rulings help keep attendees on the cutting-edge of retirement, tax law and IRA distribution planning. Through his membership, Gordon is immediately notified of changes to the tax code and updates on retirement planning, and he has 24/7 access to Ed Slott and Company LLC to confer with on complex cases.

This information, developed by an independent third party, has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. does not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Changes in tax laws or regulations may occur at any time and could substantially impact your situation.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: This article was published in The Slott Report on irahelp.com by Ed Slott and Company, LLC, an organization providing timely IRA information and analysis to financial advisors, institutions, consumers, and media across the country and is distributed with its permission. Copyright ©2023, Ed Slott and Company, LLC Reprinted from The Slott Report, September 06, 2023, with permission https://www.irahelp.com/slottreport/rules-inherited-iras-may-surprise-nonspouse-beneficiaries. Ed Slott and Company, LLC takes no responsibility for the current accuracy of this article.

Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse the opinions or services of of Sarah Brenner, JD, The Slott Report, ED Slott, Ed Slott and Company, LLC, IRA Help, LLC, irahelp.com, or Ed Slott’s Master Elite IRA Advisor Group. Members of Ed Slott’s Elite IRA Advisor Group(SM) train with Ed Slott and his team of IRA Experts on a continuous basis. These advisors passed a background check, complete requisite training, attend semiannual workshops, webinars, and complete mandatory exams. They are immediately notified of changes to the tax laws.

CSP #283290-2 Exp. 10.24.29

 

Avoiding Spousal Beneficiary Mistakes

Jul 6, 2023 | Retirement Planning

AVOIDING SPOUSAL BENEFICIARY MISTAKES

5 Easy Steps

Cornerstone is pleased to bring you this article by Ed Slott and Company, LLC, an organization providing IRA education and analysis to financial advisors, institutions, consumers, and media across the country. Our association with this organization helps us stay up to date on the latest developments in IRA and tax law. As always, give us a call if you’d like to discuss!

Who is a spouse beneficiary?

 

A spouse beneficiary:

    • Must be married to the account owner at the time of the account owner’s death, and
    • Must be named on the beneficiary form (or inherit directly through the document default provisions).

 As a spouse beneficiary you have unique options:

1. Split the inherited account if necessary. As a spouse beneficiary, you can take advantage of the special spousal rules if you are the sole beneficiary of an IRA account.

If other beneficiaries have been named, the spouse can still take advantage of these special provisions by transferring their portion of the inherited IRA to a separate account by December 31st of the year following the year of the IRA owner’s death.

2. Will you need money prior to age 59½. If so, you will likely want to remain a beneficiary of the inherited account. Death is an exception to the 10% early distribution penalty. So, by staying as a beneficiary you can avoid paying the 10% penalty.

The account should be retitled as a properly titled inherited IRA. As a spouse that remains a beneficiary you do not need to take RMDs from the account until the year the deceased spouse would have turned 73.

3. Transfer the inherited IRA into a spouse beneficiary’s account. As a spouse beneficiary you should generally roll the inherited IRA into your name. Once a younger spouse beneficiary reaches age 59½, there’s no advantage to remaining a beneficiary, and a spousal rollover or transfer should be done.

NO other beneficiary has this option. By doing this rollover or transfer, a surviving spouse ensures that eligible designated beneficiaries will be able to stretch distributions over their own life expectancies.

4. Name new beneficiaries. As the surviving spouse you should name your own beneficiaries. If no beneficiaries have been named and the surviving spouse dies, the remaining assets will pass according to the default provisions in the custodial document. This is frequently the estate of the now deceased spouse, which could require a shorter payout period for beneficiaries or add unnecessary time and expenses by tying the assets up in probate.

5. Consider a disclaimer. Before taking any action regarding an inherited IRA, as a surviving spouse you should evaluate whether a full or partial disclaimer would be advantageous. By using a disclaimer, some or all of the inherited IRA can be passed to contingent beneficiaries, potentially extending the stretch IRA and reducing the future impact of estate taxes for eligible designated beneficiaries.

Gordon Wollman and Ed Slott

Gordon Wollman, Founder and President of Cornerstone Financial Solutions, and Raymond James Wealth Advisor, with Ed Slott at the 2023 Spring workshop for members of Ed Slott’s Elite and Master Elite IRA Advisor Group℠.

Membership in Ed Slott’s Elite IRA Advisor Group(T)  is one of the tools our advisors use to help you avoid unnecessary taxes and fees on your retirement dollars. Gordon attends in-depth technical training on advanced retirement account planning strategies and estate planning techniques. And semiannual workshops analyzing the most recent tax law changes, case studies, private letter rulings, Congressional action and Supreme Court rulings help keep attendees on the cutting-edge of retirement, tax law and IRA distribution planning. Through his membership, Gordon is immediately notified of changes to the tax code and updates on retirement planning, and he has 24/7 access to Ed Slott and Company LLC to confer with on complex cases.

This information, developed by an independent third party, has been obtained from sources considered to be reliable, but Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. does not guarantee that the foregoing material is accurate or complete. Changes in tax laws or regulations may occur at any time and could substantially impact your situation. ACKNOWLEDGMENT: This article was published by Ed Slott and Company, LLC, an organization providing timely IRA information and analysis to financial advisors, institutions, consumers, and media across the country and is distributed with its permission. Copyright 2023, Ed Slott and Company, LLC. Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse the opinions or services of Ed Slott or Ed Slott and Company, LLC.

 Raymond James is not affiliated with and does not endorse the opinions or services of ED Slott, Ed Slott and Company, LLC, IRA Help, LLC, or Ed Slott’s Master Elite IRA Advisor Group. Members of Ed Slott’s Elite IRA Advisor GroupSM train with Ed Slott and his team of IRA Experts on a continuous basis. These advisors passed a background check, complete requisite training, attend semiannual workshops, webinars, and complete mandatory exams. They are immediately notified of changes to the tax laws.

 

CSP #231877-2 Exp. 10.23.25