Social Security Expert Offers Insights at LVAIC Retirement Seminar

December 7, 2018, @ 1:32 PM

Julie Knight, CFP®, CLTC, CDFA® Vice President- Wealth Management Portfolio Manager Financial Planning Specialist Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley, presents on social security implications in retirement.

As part of the LVAIC Retirement Seminar series, the consortium hosted Julie Knight, CFP®, CLTC, CDFA® Vice President of Wealth Management Portfolio Manager Financial Planning Specialist Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley. Knight offered expertise and insights regarding social security and planning for long-term wealth management and care into retirement.

Throughout her presentation, Knight reiterated the importance of understanding the impact of social security on financial planning as a whole, explaining that most people only use social security for 33% of their income during retirement. However, in some instances, social security provides 50% or more of retirees income. She offered advice on calculating budgets, comprehending monthly expenses and income, categorizing actual needs, wants, and wishes to determine the exact amount of funds retirees will require each month.

From there, she offered a Wealth Organizer to aid in the process of calculating these amounts. The Wealth Organizer also provides space to document plans around official document storage, emergency information, security, insurance records, funeral plans, and more.

Knight outlined the process of receiving social security, explaining that retirees must have worked for 40 credits (10 years total) to be eligible. The calculation of social security is based upon years worked, FICA or SECA paid, and amount of earnings. From this, she shared the way to calculate retirement ages and the implications of taking social security at different stages.

Determining the exact time to take social security varies for people based on several factors. Health history, working arrangements, marital status, tax implications, and more all impact this decision. Planning for a retirement strategy requires individualized consultation, and personal goals must be assessed accordingly.

This series reflects the on-going work of the consortium to collaborate around professional development, including development around the next career phase for the LVAIC community. The next event in this series is scheduled for Monday, February 25, 2019 at Moravian College. The registration for that event is available here.

The presentation provided at this event is available here. The Wealth Organizer documents are available here. The Morgan Stanley website is available here.