Social Security Claiming Strategies for Estate Planners: Updated for the 2015 Bipartisan Budget Bill
Maximizing Benefits and Optimizing Lifetime Income
Recording of a 90-minute CLE webinar with Q&A
This CLE course will help estate planners and advisers develop Social Security benefit claiming strategies for clients nearing retirement age. At least 10,000 people each day become eligible for Social Security benefits. Your clients will look to you for answers—are you prepared or will they find another adviser who is? You will learn claiming techniques for optimizing clients’ joint lifetime benefit amounts including maximizing the higher earner benefits, coordinating claiming elections between spouses, and maximizing the survivor benefit.
Outline
- Overview of Social Security benefits and rules
- Factors to consider when taking Social Security
- What if clients need benefits early?
- What if clients want to wait to receive benefits?
- Working between ages 62 and full retirement age
- Family benefits
- Claiming elections
- “Claim and suspend” election
- “Restricted application” election
- Do over
- The future of Social Security and possible changes
Benefits
Our speaker will discuss these and other key issues:
- How does retirement age affect benefit amounts?
- What factors should be considered in deciding when to take Social Security?
- What Social Security offset rules can result in reductions in benefits?
- How do changes in family status—divorce, death of spouse—affect Social Security determinations?
Faculty

Thomas R. Hager
Managing Partner
Schlabig & Associates
Mr. Hager focuses his practice on promoting Social Security education and helping clients maximize claiming strategies.... | Read More
Mr. Hager focuses his practice on promoting Social Security education and helping clients maximize claiming strategies. He is a Certified National Social Security Advisor and is the recipient of NSSA's 2015 Advisor of the Year Award. Mr. Hager is a Subject Matter Expert for the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and regularly tweets on Social Security topics at @MISTERSocSec.
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