The National Association of Registered Social Security Analysts has created a platform to assist financial advisors and people who are contemplating collecting their Social Security to maximize benefits, the association announced today.
The new tool, the RSSA (Registered Social Security Analysts) Roadmap, was developed to make what can be a complicated decision easier. The Roadmap can help beneficiaries maximize their benefits, the association said.
The Roadmap enables advisors and consumers to purchase the Roadmap alone or engage with an NARSSA-trained advisor on a one-on-one or continuing basis. The association has trained more than 3,000 financial professionals and is in the process of building a national network of CFPs, CPAs, enrolled agents, insurance agents and other retirement professionals to provide the expertise and support needed, the association said.
“The fact is that most Americans pay into the Social Security system their entire working lives without giving the benefits they will receive much thought or planning,” the association said. “By using the RSSA Roadmap, consumers will discover what their claiming strategy options are and also will learn which of the more than 2,700 Social Security rules apply to their situations.”
The RSSA Roadmap is a cloud-based platform designed to make it easy for individuals to visualize all their available claiming options, the association added. The platform is designed to allow individuals to easily and securely upload their own and their spouse’s historical earnings records from the Social Security website at www.ssa.gov. Then the platform uses additional information, such as marital status, disability, dependents, future earnings, maximum life expectancy, and pensions to evaluate the possible claiming strategies for each user.
“It is our mission at RSSA to make sure all Americans have access to the personalized information and help needed, using the very best technology, to make their optimal claiming decision and to receive all the Social Security benefits they are entitled to,” Martha Shedden, co-founder of the association, said in a statement. “We educate and train RSSAs to offer this service, whether that is as a stand-alone analysis or as a value add to the other important services they offer retirees.”
The Roadmap allows users to view all filing options available from age 62 through age 70, viewed by lifetime, annual or monthly benefit amounts. It also helps users to understand how benefits are calculated, and what the break-even point is for collecting benefits at different ages.
When a user has questions, the association can be contacted by phone or email or a live conversation can be scheduled. The consumer has access to educational webinars, local seminars and videos to increase understanding about the Social Security system.
“When the Social Security program first began in 1935, the average remaining life expectancy for a 65-year-old was 13.7 years, there were few divorced individuals, and most households were supported by one income earner who collected Social Security retirement benefits when he retired,” the association said. “Today’s 65-year individuals have an average remaining life expectancy of 18.4 years; there are many retirees who are single, divorced or widowed; and more than half of households are dual income. The Social Security claiming age and strategy
varies for each unique situation.”
