Social Security
Optimizing Social Security claiming strategies, spousal benefits, and coordination with other income sources.
The Survivor Benefit Trap: Why Delaying Social Security Is Life Insurance for Couples
Most couples treat Social Security as two separate decisions. It's actually one decision, and the higher earner's claim age determines the survivor's income for life. Here's the math advisors should model — and the widow's limit that quietly trims the floor.
When to Claim Social Security: The Real Math Behind 62 vs. 67 vs. 70
Claiming Social Security early at 62 permanently cuts your benefit by up to 30%; waiting until 70 raises it by up to 24% above full retirement age. This guide breaks down the reduction and delayed-credit math, the break-even age, the earnings test, how benefits are taxed, and why the claiming decision is really a longevity and household-income decision.
How Social Security Is Taxed: Provisional Income and the 85% Rule
A plain-English guide to how Social Security benefits are taxed — how provisional (combined) income works, the 50% and 85% thresholds, the states that still tax benefits, the 2025 senior deduction, and strategies to keep more of your check.
The WEP and GPO Repeal: What the Social Security Fairness Act Means for Public Pensioners
The Social Security Fairness Act repealed the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO), restoring full Social Security benefits to roughly 3.2 million teachers, firefighters, police officers, and government workers with non-covered pensions. Here's what changed, who's affected, and the tax and claiming decisions the higher benefits create.