Social Security Maximization
Get every dollar Social Security owes you.
Most people claim Social Security at 62 because they can. That single decision can cost a household more than a hundred thousand dollars in lifetime benefits. The right claiming age isn't a guess, it's a calculation built on your health, your spouse's benefit, your other income, and your tax situation.
At our firm, we treat Social Security as a planning problem, not a form to fill out. We model every claiming scenario across both spouses, then show you the strategy that gets you the most after taxes over a realistic life expectancy.
Everything that
actually moves the plan.
Built around your life
Most people claim Social Security at 62 because they can. That single decision can cost a household more than a hundred thousand dollars in lifetime benefits. The right claiming age isn't a guess, it's a calculation built on your health, your spouse's benefit, your other income, and your tax situation.
Our approach
We start by pulling your earnings record from ssa.gov and projecting your benefit at every claiming age from 62 to 70. Then we run the same projection for your spouse. We layer in survivor benefits, spousal benefits, and the Windfall Elimination Provision if it applies.
The details that matter
Next we coordinate the claiming decision with your withdrawal strategy. Claiming later often means pulling more from tax-deferred accounts in your 60s, which can open the door to Roth conversions, IRMAA management, and a lower lifetime tax bill. We model all of it side by side.
Why us
Social Security claiming is one of the few financial decisions you only get to make once. The default of claiming early is rarely right for married couples, and almost never right for a household with one higher earner. We've been running these calculations for Northern Suburbs households for forty years.
A firm built for this.
Social Security claiming is one of the few financial decisions you only get to make once. The default of claiming early is rarely right for married couples, and almost never right for a household with one higher earner. We've been running these calculations for Northern Suburbs households for forty years.
We don't sell Social Security advice as a one-off. It's built into every retirement plan we run, alongside the tax, income, and withdrawal pieces it interacts with.
Honest answers.
When should I claim Social Security?
It depends on your benefit amount, your spouse's benefit, your health, and your other retirement income. For most married couples where one spouse earned significantly more, the higher earner waiting until 70 maximizes lifetime household benefits, including the survivor benefit. For single people in good health, waiting past full retirement age usually wins. We model the actual numbers for your household.
How does Social Security get taxed?
Up to 85% of your benefit can be taxed depending on your other income. The threshold is low, so retirees with even modest IRA withdrawals or pension income usually hit it. We coordinate withdrawal timing and Roth conversions to manage the provisional-income calculation that drives Social Security taxation.
What's a spousal benefit and do I qualify?
A spousal benefit lets one spouse claim up to 50% of the other spouse's full retirement benefit, if it's higher than their own. There are rules about claiming age and whether the higher earner has already filed. We sort out what applies to your household and build it into the claiming plan.
Social Security Maximization in your
community.
Let’s build the plan.
One free conversation. We’ll look at where you are and show you what a real plan looks like.