FINANCIAL STRATEGIES GROUP
22
CHAPTER 3
SOCIAL SECURITY
Minor Children Benefits - If you are 62 or
older and have minor children, adopted
or biological, then each of your minor
children could be able to get an amount
up to half of your benefit until they are
18 years old.
Disabled children - Your disabled child
may be eligible for 50% of your benefits
if they were disabled prior to 22 years of
age. Benefits may continue as long as
your child is disabled.
Bringing it all together
As you have probably realized by
now, determining when and how to
claim Social Security can be a pretty
complicated decision. To complicate
it even further, we have the concept of
opportunity cost. Opportunity cost is
the cost associated with choosing one
option over another.
If you decide to delay claiming Social Security
and instead take larger withdrawals from
your investments you are experiencing
opportunity cost. Any extra withdrawals you
need to take to allow you to delay Social
Security will no longer be invested in your
portfolio and will no longer be growing. All
of this complexity has brought me to the
conclusion that most people will benefit
from working with a financial planner who
is proficient in retirement planning and uses
reputable financial planning software (i.e.,
e-money or Money Guide Pro). Additionally,
I would suggest that the financial advisor
you work with have either the CERTIFIED
FINANCIAL PLANNER(R) (CFP(R)) and/or
Chartered Financial Consultant(R) (ChFC(R))
designations.
