Episode summary
When Should You Take Social Security? (Don’t Screw This Up)
Your Money Your Wealth
· · Hosts: Joe Anderson, Big Al Clopine
Summary
The episode centered on Social Security claiming decisions inside broader retirement plans, using three listener case studies to show how pensions, portfolio size, spending, and work plans change the answer. For Bijou Plutus in Massachusetts, the hosts said the couple’s roughly $961,000 in liquid assets, $500,000 home, $20,000 pension, and projected Social Security benefits looked strong enough to support retirement around 65, and possibly a bit earlier if the husband’s part-time work continues. They suggested his 401(k) contributions should likely shift to Roth and that she may not need a brokerage account.
For Dr. Jackal and Mrs. Hyde in the Twin Cities, the hosts said the numbers were too variable for a precise answer now, but the combination of rising savings, a future pension, and likely continued work means the plan should be revisited later. They favored Roth 401(k) contributions now and pointed out that the rule of 55 could help bridge early retirement from a 401(k).
For Diggler and Roller Girl, the hosts focused on the mismatch between stated spending and likely retirement cash flow. They argued the couple’s large pensions and Social Security make early claiming less important than getting the spending estimate right, and said the wife should probably claim earlier while the husband delays for the bigger survivor benefit.
Key takeaways
- Bijou Plutus and her husband appear to have enough assets and pension income to retire around 65, according to the hosts.
- The hosts urged Bijou’s husband to switch his solo 401(k) contributions to Roth because their income is now relatively low.
- Dr. Jackal and Mrs. Hyde should revisit their plan in a few years; the hosts said too many variables remain, including her pension timing and his possible lump-sum choice.
- For the Twin Cities couple, the hosts said the rule of 55 could let the husband tap his 401(k) without penalty after age 55.
- For Diggler and Roller Girl, the hosts said the key issue is not Social Security break-even math but whether their true retirement spending is closer to $90,000 or $200,000.
- The hosts suggested the husband in the Tennessee case delay claiming for the larger survivor benefit while the wife could claim earlier because her benefit is smaller.
Notable quotes
“but as far as um contributions, they should be all Roth at this point”
“I think all of this needs to be reanalyze it in five years to see where they're at”
“The rule of 55 will be important in this particular case, but there's so many different scenarios”
How the episode opens
Joe and Big Al focus on social security claiming strategies as part of the retirement's pitballs today on your money your wealth podcast number 574. Beiju Plutus and her husband in Massachusetts are 62 and 64 with about a million. Can she retire at 65 and should he claim social security early?
Dr. Jackekal and Mrs. Hyde in the Twin Cities have about the same at 51 and 49 plus big pensions and high spending.
Can they afford to retire early and when should they claim social security? Diggler and Roller Girl in Tennessee are 57 and 58 with about 600K and Diggler estimates his social security break even is at age 77. Can he collect Social Security early and simply work recreationally?
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I'm executive producer Andy Lass, and here are the hosts of Your Money, Your Wealth, Joe Anderson, CFP, and Big Al Copine, CPA. We got Hello Joe, Big Al, and Andy. Love your information and entertaining podcast.
I know this sounds geeky, but I get a spark of joy when your money or wealth drops into my podcast queue each Tuesday. Wow,
Geeky. That doesn't sound — I do, too. That means that something's working. — Sounds lovely. — All right. — All right. Hey, I wanted to uh request a spitball for some time, but have been embarrassed by by modest numbers compared to most of your listeners, but here it goes. Oh, don't worry about it.
Yeah, don't worry about it at all. — And this is from Beiju Plutus in Massachusetts.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- social security claiming
- retirement planning
- retirement timing
- tax optimization
- pension planning
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Pure Financial Advisors, LLC
Watch the episode
Watch “When Should You Take Social Security? (Don’t Screw This Up)” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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