$1,400/month
Social Security planning
Social Security Advisor for Boston-Area Retirees
The age you claim Social Security can change your monthly check by more than 40% for the rest of your life, and it shapes what your spouse would receive as a survivor. Paul McNulty, CFP®, helps you make that decision with the numbers in front of you.
What does a Social Security advisor do?
A Social Security advisor helps you decide when and how to claim benefits so they fit the rest of your retirement income. That includes choosing a claiming age for you and your spouse, coordinating spousal and survivor benefits, managing taxes on benefits, and deciding which savings to use if you delay. For most couples, the decision is permanent, so it's worth getting right.
Why your claiming age matters
You can start benefits as early as 62 or as late as 70. For anyone born in 1960 or later, full retirement age is 67. Every month you wait, up to age 70, raises your check permanently.
$2,000/month
$2,480/month
Hypothetical example for someone born in 1960 or later with a $2,000 full benefit, before cost-of-living adjustments. Your figures come from your own Social Security statement.
Waiting isn't right for everyone. Health, other income, your spouse's age and benefit, and how long your savings need to last all matter. That's why the decision belongs inside a full income plan.
How Paul helps
- Choose the right claiming age — for you and, if you're married, for each spouse.
- Coordinate spousal benefits — a spouse can receive up to 50% of the other's full benefit.
- Protect the surviving spouse — the survivor keeps the larger of the two checks, so the higher earner's claiming age matters twice.
- Check divorced-spouse benefits — if you were married 10 years or more.
- Plan for taxes on benefits — up to 85% of benefits can be federally taxable, depending on your other income.
- Bridge the gap — if delaying makes sense, decide which savings to draw from in the meantime.
- Coordinate with Medicare — at 65, including how income affects premiums.
How the process works
Bring your Social Security statement
Download it at ssa.gov/myaccount, or we'll help you get it.
See your options side by side
Paul models different claiming ages for you and your spouse alongside your savings, pensions, and taxes.
Get a written recommendation
as part of your retirement income plan, and revisit it as life changes.
Straight answers
Frequently asked questions
There's no single best age. Claiming at 62 gives you smaller checks for longer; waiting until 70 gives you the largest monthly check. The right age depends on your health, other income, marital status, and how long your savings need to last.
Boston Metro Advisor and LPL Financial are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any government agency.