Consumers turn to advisors for answers on Social Security

The first and biggest financial decision older Americans must make is when and how to claim Social Security benefits. Consumers need the information required to make the right decision, and advisors put their clients and their own practices at risk if they don’t know how to answer client questions about Social Security.

Thomas Drapala, director of strategic partnerships with Registered Social Security Analysts, spoke at the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors Apex conference about why advisors must position themselves as Social Security experts.

Social Security “is relevant to every American,” he said. “Nearly all Americans pay into it. Nearly all Americans will claim it.”

More than 67 million Americans receive Social Security benefits, he said, “showing the vast reach and importance of the program for financial advisors.”

“We’re actually leaving money on the table, because if we can’t help our clients with Social Security, the risk is that they will go to another advisor who can.”

Drapala said he learned that when helping clients answer questions on Social Security, “they get excited when they realize they won’t leave any money on the table, that they’re making the best claiming strategy.”

Discussing Social Security led to clients asking Drapala to help them with their other assets – such as their individual retirement accounts – “but I was only able to help them with that by helping them with that organic door opener.”

Drapala said, “We want to be able to educate every American so they’re not leaving money on the table and are also receiving more money.”

Retirees aren’t the only people impacted by Social Security. The program benefits business owners, young widows, minor children and the disabled, he said.

Drapala said advisors need to help clients answer the following questions:

• How do my future earnings impact my Social Security benefits?
• When do I take my Social Security benefits?
• What benefits am I eligible for?
• Can I claim a benefit from my ex-spouse?
• What happens when my spouse dies?

“Our clients don’t know what questions to ask, they don’t know where to go to get answers,” he said.

Planning for Social Security “is the first retirement decision for most individuals, an overwhelming decision and in most cases a one-time decision,” Drapala said.

He cited a 2020 Nationwide survey that said four out of five consumers said they would switch their financial advisor if they can’t help maximize their Social Security.

Social Security expertise “opens the door to new opportunities,” Drapala said. They include referral opportunities; cross-selling of Medicare, life insurance and annuities; tax services; assets under management; reverse mortgages, and financial planning.