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Social Security is a big topic. It’s fluid, misunderstood and has a huge impact on your clients’ retirement. Even with beneficial changes in Social Security that took place in December 2024 (specifically, a repeal expected to increase benefits for more than 3,000,000 retirees), the program remains a complex benefit full of irrevocable choices for clients. And the problem is that there is not a good source of answers.

When you pose a question to the Social Security Administration, they are trained to respond to that specific question and nothing else. Unfortunately, even when we seek out advice, clients don’t get the whole story or the answers that are important to their situation.

“Despite having to navigate various macroeconomic, economic and social challenges, the US life insurance and retirement industry holds significant potential for growth”.

E&Y just published a continuation of a series analyzing the impacts and potential benefits of including insurance products in a retirement plan to help meet the savings and protection needs of consumers.

Many retirees and even some financial planning practitioners may not be aware of the ability for a specific subset of folks to be able to claim retroactive social security benefits. The benefits come as a lump sum and cover months in which the individual qualified for benefits but had not yet filed a claim. This strategy can be used for both retirement and disability benefits. Supplemental Social Security Income has no retroactive feature. Understanding how these benefits work, who qualifies, and the implications of retroactive payments is crucial for effective retirement or disability planning.

With more than 800 pages, the Big Beautiful Bill (BBB) can seem overwhelming. In this blog series, we break down specific segments focused on retirement planning and how they affect your clients. If a topic piques your interest, consider researching it further or reaching out to our team to talk strategy.

First up: The Senior Bonus Deduction.

What is the Senior Bonus Deduction?

A temporary tax deduction available to eligible American taxpayers who are 65 and older. It is included as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed into law by President Trump in July 2025.

Retirement income planning is one of the most critical, yet misunderstood, aspects of financial advising. Many advisors and clients alike hold on to outdated beliefs that can negatively impact long-term financial security. In a recent McGSpeaks podcast, I interviewed Randy Kitzmiller, ChFC, CLU, FLMI, RICP and tackled five of the biggest myths surrounding income planning and revealed how advisors can better serve their clients by challenging conventional wisdom. Below, we explore these myths and present actionable insights that can transform retirement planning strategies.

Can you identify the “solo agers” among your client base? They’re broadly defined as unmarried, divorced, or widowed adults with no close heirs. It’s a growing demographic and one that’s often overlooked when it comes to financial planning. Given the lack of traditional planning models for this group, there are several things to keep in mind when working with them.

Oftentimes, as clients retire, a window of opportunity opens. If they retire before beginning RMDs, or in some cases even prior to starting Social Security, they may find themselves in the lowest tax bracket they’ve been in since they became employed. This can be a great time to complete Roth conversions, which are the movement of pretax money into a post-tax Roth IRA. The obvious cost at the time is the taxes due on the converted amount, as the money is treated as ordinary income. However, several oft-forgotten costs to Roth conversions may make them less beneficial than previously estimated. Naturally, these are client-dependent and may not affect every individual, nor are they reasons to forgo the conversion, but they are worth investigating when determining if the conversion makes sense.

As our clients approach retirement, the conversation flips from asset accumulation to income distribution, and this change involves new complexities. One of the most important parts of a successful retirement plan is preparing a tax-efficient income withdrawal strategy. This strategy isn’t just about guaranteeing income; it’s about preserving wealth over the client’s lifetime by minimizing their income taxes. A good withdrawal plan can impact the longevity of retirement savings and the total taxes the client pays over their lifetime.

On the first Sunday in January 2025, President Joe Biden brought some warmth to a very cold time of year by signing the bipartisan Social Security Fairness Act into law. This legislation impacts more than 2.5 million Americans, which makes it important for financial advisors to understand. The short version of what happened is that this law repeals both the Windfall Elimination Provision from 1983 and the Government Pension Offset from 1977 (but with an adjustment in 1983).