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I know a lot of people recommend Social Security Solutions but what do you get for the cost? Their pricing goes from as low as $20 up to $250.
I've been using Quicken's SS Optimizer which only costs $10. Now granted, it only focuses on maximizing your benefit and doesn't account for anything else. But I think that's good enough for me.
What are your experiences with these or other SS software programs? Is the additional cost really worth it?
getting the most from ss is easy for software to do .
integrating it with your personal situation and assets is a whole different game .
once spending down assets to delay are looked at , spousal benefits , TAXES , getting your ss taxed , roth conversions , survivor benefits and taxes , aca subsidy , amount of your medicare premium , etc , are all taken in to the picture it is very complex .
we helped beta test fidelity's optimizing social security software .. it certainly found the most dollars but it ended up dropping the ball on being the best plan when integrated with your own assets and situation . so it has been pulled from use .
there is likely no spread sheet you are going to do that does anything but find the biggest dollars. it takes very complex software and that is why the places who have it have a range of prices depending how detailed of a work up you want .
Last edited by mathjak107; 01-13-2019 at 03:52 AM..
I know a lot of people recommend Social Security Solutions but what do you get for the cost? Their pricing goes from as low as $20 up to $250.
I've been using Quicken's SS Optimizer which only costs $10. Now granted, it only focuses on maximizing your benefit and doesn't account for anything else. But I think that's good enough for me.
What are your experiences with these or other SS software programs? Is the additional cost really worth it?
well you may think the simple calculator is good enough for you but that could be because we only know what we know and don't consider what we don't know ... that is one of our faults as humans -our brains can not consider all the things we don't know .
so here is an example :
the tax gods give us all a tax gift . if we can keep our taxable income low enough , a couple can pull 24k out of an ira tax free using just the standard deduction .
they can pull over 40k out at as little as 4% effective tax ... that is an insane deal compared to rmd's later ..
so the question now is , if you take ss early how will not being able to take that nice juicy tax free or low tax money effect you long term . if you delay ss longer can you take advantage of that money ?
how will spending down invested assets effect you if you delay ? what about any aca subsidy you may need from 62-65 ? what about roth conversions if you delay and income is lower ?
what about lower rmd's vs higher ss check and the effect on your wife as a widow now that she files single ?
further more how you invest may effect your ability to control your income . dividends are something you can't control or turn off and on . if taxable income is critical wold you be better off drawing money from appreciation where only the gain is taxed and not the entire dividend ?
i can give you so many questions that come up once you try to integrate ss with your situation .
Last edited by mathjak107; 01-13-2019 at 04:40 AM..
Ha ha. I just did the free calculator and it said I should start collecting mine now (early) and my husband should work until he's 70. Husband thinks this calculator stinks. LOL.
i bet it did not consider a single thing like taxes and spending down invested assets , or even if you want to be more dependent on markets or prefer to be more dependent on longevity for your income .
it gave just a superficial ss amount based on nothing else .
usually worthless in the real world if you really want a good snap shot ....
so as an example if you dislike investing and don't plan on using equities , the fact you planned on a 4% draw and early ss as an example can be a very risky situation with a very low chance of success unless your income was cut by about 25% from your savings because you can't support a 4% draw with only fixed income with any degree of reliability . .
so early ss may make a risk adverse person more dependent on markets , while delaying makes them less dependent . this is why these simple calculators can be poor choices in to many cases .
Last edited by mathjak107; 01-15-2019 at 04:14 AM..
Oh for heaven's sake... of course it's useless. I was only sharing my husband's funny response to the suggestion he work into old age and I hang out at home and binge-watch Netflix.
The bogleheads have a really good spread sheet that you can use to optimize SS and calculate other things like whether to do a Roth conversion. It is very detailed with lots of options. It is free but you have to know a bit about Excel to use it.
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