Fee-only advisors for Social Security claiming strategy and retirement income integration.
When to claim Social Security is one of the highest-stakes retirement decisions — delaying from 62 to 70 increases monthly benefit ~77%, locking in higher lifetime income and survivor benefits. But optimal timing depends on longevity, marital status, other retirement income, tax brackets, and whether you continue to work. Generic online calculators
What our matched specialists handle
- 62 vs FRA vs 70 — when should I claim?
- Married couple: should we both delay, or split?
- I'm a teacher or government worker — how does the WEP/GPO repeal change my benefits?
- Ex-spouse benefit — when can I claim, and does my ex have to have claimed?
- Survivor benefits — if my spouse dies, what happens to our income?
- Claiming while still working — earnings test reductions?
Tools & guides
Social Security Claiming Age Optimizer
Compare lifetime income at different claiming ages for you or your household.
Spousal Claiming Strategy Calculator
Side-by-side comparison of 4 couples strategies — monthly income, survivor protection, and lifetime total.
Spousal Benefits for Non-Working or Low-Earning Spouses
Up to 50% of your partner's PIA — but capped at PIA, not the age-70 benefit. Claiming age reduction table, top-up calculation, and survivor benefit comparison.
Survivor Benefits Strategy Calculator
Widow or widower? Compare three strategies — claim survivor early and delay your own to 70, claim own first and switch at FRA, or wait for maximum monthly benefit.
Social Security for Teachers: WEP/GPO Repeal and Spousal Benefits
About 40% of U.S. teachers aren't covered by Social Security. With GPO repealed, many teachers with CalSTRS, TRS, or STRS pensions now qualify for spousal or survivor benefits they were never getting — calculator included.
Social Security Fairness Act: WEP & GPO Repeal
What the January 2025 law means for teachers, government workers, and surviving spouses — and how to optimize your strategy now.
WEP & GPO Repeal Calculator
Estimate your monthly benefit increase and retroactive payment after the 2025 WEP/GPO repeal. For teachers, government workers, and their spouses.
Roth Conversion Window Calculator
Model your gap-year Roth conversions before SS starts — annual conversion amount, tax cost, and break-even analysis.
Social Security Full Retirement Age (FRA) Guide
FRA table by birth year, benefit reduction formula, 2026 maximum benefit amounts, and interactive FRA lookup tool.
How to Apply for Social Security: Timing, Documents, and Process
Step-by-step application guide — when to file, documents checklist, payment timing by birthday, and Medicare enrollment coordination.
How Social Security Benefits Are Calculated
Step-by-step: AIME, bend points, and the PIA formula that determines your monthly benefit. Includes an interactive estimator using 2026 formula values.
Social Security Planning Timeline
What to do at 55, 60, 62, 65, FRA, and 70 — age-by-age action checklist with Medicare enrollment windows and claiming strategy milestones.
Social Security Retroactive Benefits Calculator
Past FRA? Model whether to take the 6-month lump sum or keep higher monthly benefits — break-even age, survivor impact, and tax considerations.
Social Security for Women: Closing the Benefit Gap
Women receive $432/month less on average. Why career breaks, longevity, and survivor benefits create unique claiming decisions — and how to close the gap.
7 Social Security Mistakes That Cost Retirees $100,000+
The most expensive claiming mistakes — claiming at 62 by default, missing spousal coordination, the earnings test trap, the Roth conversion window, and more. Includes a self-assessment checklist.
Social Security and Pension Income: When to Claim If You Have Both
How pension income triggers the SS taxation trap, why the delay-to-70 argument shifts for defined benefit recipients, and how to coordinate pension survivor options with SS survivor benefits.
How to Read Your Social Security Statement
Access your mySSA statement, check your earnings record for costly errors, understand what the projected benefit numbers assume, and translate your PIA into a claiming strategy.
Social Security at 67: Claiming at FRA vs Delaying to 70
Age 67 is full retirement age for anyone born 1960 or later — 100% of your PIA, no reduction. Here's when claiming now is right, when delaying 3 more years for 24% extra makes sense, and what changes the moment you hit FRA (earnings test gone, voluntary suspension opens).
Waiting Until 70 for Social Security: Maximum Benefits and Break-Even
The DRC math (24% more than FRA for birth year 1960+), break-even calculator vs FRA and 62, survivor benefit case for delay, bridge income strategies, and how to apply 4 months early.
Social Security for Singles: Claiming Strategy Without the Spousal Equation
Without a spouse to coordinate with, the decision comes down to longevity. Break-even calculator (62 vs FRA vs 70), the single-filer tax trap ($34K threshold), Roth conversion window, and what applies if you were previously married.
Social Security Benefits and Divorce: The 10-Year Rule and What's at Stake
Courts can't divide Social Security — but the 10-year marriage threshold can be worth $150,000+ in lifetime divorced spousal benefits. What to know before finalizing the decree: timing the threshold, QDRO vs. SS tradeoffs, GPO repeal impact, and 5 questions for your attorney.
Social Security and Remarriage: How It Affects Your Benefits
The age-60 rule that determines whether survivor benefits survive a new marriage. Divorced spousal, widow/widower, and new-spouse benefit scenarios — with an interactive impact checker.
Social Security for Federal Employees (FERS)
The FERS supplement stops at 62 — why that creates a claiming trap, how to bridge the gap with pension + TSP, and the Roth conversion window FERS retirees shouldn't miss.
Does Investment Income Affect Your Social Security Benefits?
401(k) withdrawals, dividends, and capital gains do NOT reduce your benefit via the earnings test — but they do affect how much of your benefit is taxable. Interactive dual calculator included.
Social Security for Military Retirees: DoD Pension, VA Disability, and Claiming Strategy
Your DoD pension bridges perfectly to a delayed SS claim. VA disability doesn't count against SS at all — not via the earnings test, not via provisional income. And SBP interacts with SS survivor benefits in ways that affect the optimal claiming age. Full guide and calculator.
Social Security Claiming Complete Guide
Detailed framework — rules, tradeoffs, and common mistakes.
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Social Security Advisor Match is a matching service. We connect you with vetted fee-only financial advisors in our network — we don't manage money or provide advice ourselves. Advisors in our network are fiduciaries who charge transparent fees (not product commissions), and we match you based on your specific situation.