Social Security sins, advice from Steve Sexton

“Winning In Life” is the radio show hosted by top financial advisor Steve Sexton. Steve is the President of Sexton Advisory Group and he is also involved with many local charities around the San Diego and Southern California region. Each week on the show, he provides his listeners with exclusive advice in financial planning and he also invites guest speakers to talk about other important topics ranging from health and charity, to travel and much more.  Tune in every Sunday morning at 9:00 KCBQ 1170 AM to hear the show live.

To start this episode, Steve briefly updated us on the current economic situations with the Euro bailout, the issue with GM Volt, current U.S. debt and more. He then goes right into the main topic of discussion: Social Security sins.

Mistake #1: Waiting too long to collect social security benefits

According to Steve, many retirees are making big mistakes that are costing them their full benefits. One of the biggest mistakes he mentions is waiting too long to collect social security benefits. Most people can start collecting their benefits at age 62; however, many people wait until about age 66 to get more money monthly. Steve recommends collecting your benefits as soon as possible because waiting the few extra years will give you more money monthly, but if you pass away early, you will not be collecting the most money overall. Another reason it is not good to wait too long to collect benefits is that there are no additional benefits for waiting to collect social security past age 70.

Mistake #2: Neglecting your spouse’s benefits

Another big mistake Steve mentions is when people neglect their spouse’s benefits. If you are collecting social security benefits and your spouse is also collecting benefits, your spouse may be eligible for collecting extra spousal benefits. This benefit does not diminish any current benefits that are being collected already. Many people are unaware of this and are missing out on extra money that could be in their pockets.

Mistake #3:  No tax plan

Toward the end of the show, Steve reveals the third biggest mistake that seniors make that adversely affect their retirement. Mistake #3 is not having a tax plan. Is your financial advisor and tax advisor working together on your behalf? Do you sit down with your advisors each year to review your tax returns line by line? Very few retirees can answer yes to this question!

If you are interested in learning more about having a tax plan, Steve advises you to contact Sexton Advisory Group to get the white paper on mistake #3, no tax plan. If you want to listen to the entire show, visit www.winninginliferadio.com.

Also, don’t forget about Steve’s upcoming events for this month:

September 18th and September 20th: A FREE educational financial workshop at the Courtyard Mariott in Mission Valley. You can learn about:

• Misconceptions that CPA/attorneys are missing
• How to eliminate taxes
• How to dramatically increase interest earnings
• And more!

Each week Steve Sexton will answer listener questions on air. Submit a question by clicking here and have it answered LIVE! If YOUR question is answered on-air, you’ll get a $50 American Express Gift Card!