Social Security claiming strategy revealed: Why waiting until 70 could be your biggest money mistake. Learn the S.E.C.U.R.E. framework to determine your optimal claiming age based on 6 personalized factors, not generic advice.

Conventional wisdom says wait until 70 for maximum Social Security benefits. But for millions of Americans, claiming early at 62 or full retirement age produces MORE lifetime wealth. This episode exposes the three lies about Social Security, introduces the S.E.C.U.R.E. decision framework (Sequence risk, Expectations, Capacity, Underspending, Regret, Economic flexibility), and gives you the exact scoring system to make your personalized claiming decision.

Download the FREE S.E.C.U.R.E. Social Security Decision Framework:

https://www.momentouswealthadvisors.com/social-security

SCHEDULE A SOCIAL SECURITY ZOOM:

https://calendly.com/brian-d-muller/zoom-for-financial-decisions

RESOURCES:

Why Delaying Social Security Benefits Isn’t Always The Best Decision:

https://www.kitces.com/blog/discount-rate-delaying-social-security-benefits-retirement-planning/#:~:text=For instance, Michael Finke takes,ought to vary between individuals

Why Advisors Should Never Recommend Social Security Claiming at 62:

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2025/06/30/why-advisors-should-never-recommend-social-security-claiming-at-62/

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

• Why the standard breakeven analysis is wrong (it ignores investment returns on early benefits)

• The S.E.C.U.R.E. framework: 6 factors to determine when YOU should claim Social Security

• Sequence risk: How portfolio size and withdrawal rates affect your claiming decision

• Life expectancy reality: Why family history matters more than population averages

• Health span vs. lifespan: When to prioritize income for active retirement years

• Underspending psychology: How guaranteed income changes spending behavior

• Regret tolerance: Would you regret dying early or living long with smaller checks more?

• Economic flexibility: When preserving portfolio liquidity beats higher guaranteed income

• 3 Wealth Decision Principles: “A bird in hand beats two in the bush,” “Optimize for life lived,” and “The perfect plan you’ll follow beats the optimal plan you won’t”

• Spousal claiming strategies: Coordinating benefits for maximum household wealth

Real breakeven analysis that includes investment returns (often age 87-90, not 80)

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Introduction: The Social Security Dilemma

01:05 Meet Brian: Your Financial Advisor

02:06 The Great Debate: When to Claim Social Security

05:18 The Secure Framework: A New Approach

05:40 Three Lies About Social Security

09:27 Wealth Decision Principles

10:24 The Secure Framework Explained

20:41 Scoring and Action Plan

22:30 Conclusion: Make the Right Decision for You

ACTIONABLE STRATEGIES COVERED:

✓ Complete S.E.C.U.R.E. scoring system (download free worksheet)

✓ How to calculate your true breakeven age with investment returns

✓ When claiming at 62 produces more total wealth than waiting until 70

✓ Spousal coordination strategies for married couples

✓ Portfolio withdrawal planning integrated with Social Security decisions

Perfect for pre-retirees and recent retirees deciding when to claim Social Security, concerned about retirement income planning, longevity risk, sequence of returns risk, and maximizing lifetime retirement wealth.

Download the FREE S.E.C.U.R.E. Social Security Decision Framework: [link]

#SocialSecurity #RetirementPlanning #ClaimingStrategy

What if delaying Social Security until 70 costs you more money than claiming early?

You've probably heard taking Social Security early can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars over your lifetime.

But what if the wait until 70 advice is wrong for your situation?

No matter what the math says, some fancy analysis says, what if it's costing you more than money?

What if it's costing you your ideal retirement?

Today, I'm destroying the biggest myth in retirement planning, that waiting until 70 is always the smart move.

I'm going to show you the six critical factors most advisors ignore and walk you through my proprietary secure framework and give you the exact decision matrix to know when you should claim.

In this episode, you'll learn three wealth decision principles that flip conventional Social Security wisdom I on its head, plus a personalized action plan to make the right claiming decision for your situation, not some theoretical average retiree.

But before we get into it, this is Brian.

I've been a financial Advisor for over 25 years and I'm here to help you make better wealth decisions.

I recently released a book called Momentous Decisions Seven Steps to Better Health, More wealth and a Richer Life and I believe that a Social Security decision is one of those momentous decisions that that can significantly impact your life in retirement and your future.

But it's not just about a Social Security analysis or how it looks on paper.

The secure framework that I developed would change how you look at Social Security claiming decisions and it'll also be available as a PDF to everyone listening.

All you have to do is like this episode and make a comment with the word secure and I'll send you a link to get your complimentary copy.

Also, I would love to know your initial thoughts on when you think you'll file for Social Security.

Now.

One of my jobs as a financial advisor is to keep up on new insights in the industry so I can help my clients make better wealth decisions along their entire life.

Sometimes that means challenging conventional wisdom and there's a massive debate happening right now in the financial planning world and most of you probably have no idea that's taking place.

On one side you have researchers like Michael Finke who argue that Social Security should be discounted at a 0%, meaning a dollar of Social Security at age 95 is worth exactly the same as a dollar at age 62.

His reasoning?

Social Security is guaranteed, inflation adjusted and backed by the government.

Therefore it deserves no discount for time or risk.

On the other side, you have practitioners like my friend Michael Kitces and researcher Derek Tharpur are saying, wait a minute, that Makes no sense.

Because here's the reality.

When you delay Social Security, you're not putting money in some magical risk free account.

You're spending down your investment portfolio faster and faster.

And if your portfolio is invested In a typical 60, 40 allocation, 60% in stocks, 40% in bonds, history shows that portfolio earns about 4.89% real returns after inflation.

That's the opportunity cost and that's what you're giving up on when you delay.

But here's where Tharp's research gets kind of revolutionary.

He says 45% isn't high enough because that only accounts for investment opportunity costs.

It doesn't account for all the other risks you're taking when you delay it.

Now, I'm not going to bore you with the findings or exact process in those reports, but if you'd like to read the research, there'll be a link in the description of this episode.

But what those other risks are when you delay are factored into my Secure Decisions framework, which you'll learn about today and how to use it to make this very important decision on when to file for Social Security benefits.

Here's a conversation I have at least once a week in my office.

Brian.

I should wait until 70 to claim Social Security, right?

That's what Dave Ramsey says.

That's what Sue Zorman says.

Everyone says wait.

And usually I say maybe, or maybe you should claim at 62.

Tell me a little bit more about your situation.

Most of the time they look at me like I just suggested they.

Birds of buddy.

Here's the real problem.

The financial advice industry has created a dangerous one size fits all narrative about Social Security.

Wait until 70 for the maximum benefit.

And mathematically, yeah, your monthly check is about 75% higher at 70 than at 62.

But here's what they're not telling you.

For millions of Americans, waiting is the worst financial decision they'll ever make.

Not because the math is wrong, but because the math they're using doesn't apply to their life.

The logic goes like this.

If you claim at 62, you'll get $2,000 per month.

If you wait until 70, you get $3,500 per month.

Obviously, bigger is better, right?

Wrong.

That's not how wealth decisions work.

The right question is, what maximizes total lifetime wealth?

Given my health, my portfolio, my spending needs and my life expectancy.

Now, in a few minutes, I'm going to introduce you to the Secure Decision Frame.

Six factors that determine your optimal claiming age.

But first, you need to understand the three lies.

The Financial industry tells about Social Security that keep people making bad decisions.

Because once you see through these lines, the right decision for your situation becomes just a little bit clearer.

So lie number one, the break even lie.

Every Social Security calculator shows the break even age.

The age where waiting catches up to claiming early.

They'll say something like if you claim at 62 versus 70, your break even age is 80.

So if you live past 80, waiting wins.

Now it sounds super logical, except it's completely wrong for most people.

And here's why.

The break even analysis ignores what you do with your money while you're waiting.

If you claim at 62, you get eight years of payments before the person waiting until 70 gets their first check.

That's 192,000 in our earlier example.

What if you invested that money even conservatively?

Let's say you earn 5% annually by age 80.

That early claimer hasn't just received more payments, they've built a portfolio worth 150 to 200,000.

The break even analysis completely ignores this.

When you factor in investment returns, the break even age isn't 80.

It's often 87 or 90.

And that's assuming you don't need to withdraw from your portfolio during those eight years.

If you do need income and you're depleting your 401k instead of collecting Social Security, the break even age might be even older.

Lie number two, the longevity assumption line.

Financial advisors love to say people are living longer.

You'll probably live in your 90s.

So waiting maximizes your lifetime benefits.

And I used to say this same thing.

But here's the problem.

Most people won't live into their 90s.

The statistics they cite are population averages.

For instance, for a 62 year old today, average life expectancy is about 84 for men and 87 for women.

Now that's way up from where it was 10, 15 years ago.

But that's an average.

If you have any health issues, diabetes, health disease, cancer history or high blood pressure, your personal life expectancy might be 75 or 78.

If you wait until 70 and die at 78, you collected eight years of higher benefits.

Meanwhile, the person who claimed to 62 collected 60 years of benefits who came out ahead.

So here's what I tell clients.

Look at your parents and grandparents.

When did they die?

Not from accidents, but from natural causes.

If everyone in your family dies in their 70s, you're betting against family history by waiting until 70.

Now I know this is not a fun thing to think about, but have you thought about your family's longevity.

When you think about your financial planning, you know, drop a comment and tell me, did your grandparents make it past 85 or did most pass in their 70s?

This matters more than you think.

Lie number three is the you can always work live.

This is the one I hear about from time to time.

Advisors will say, don't claim early, just keep working.

If you need income now, this is great advice if you're healthy and employable.

But what if you're not?

What if you get laid off at 64 and nobody will hire you?

What if your knees give out and you can't do your job anymore?

What if you need to care for a sick spouse?

The statistics are pretty sober.

Nearly half of the retirees leave the workforce earlier than planned due to health issues, job loss, or caregiving responsibilities.

If you're banking on working until 70, but reality forces you out at 64, you just spent two years burning through savings instead of collecting benefits.

Claiming at 62 gives you control.

You're not dependent on your employer, your health, or the job market.

You have a guaranteed income floor and everything else is kind of gravy.

So waiting until 70 requires everything to go right for eight years, and I think that's a pretty risky bet.

So this leads me to wealth decision principle number one.

Your claiming strategy should match your reality, not academic averages.

This principle is about understanding the opportunity, cost and risk in real life, not spreadsheets or calculations.

Yes, waiting until 70 gives you a bigger check, but claiming at 62 gives you money.

Now that you can invest, spend or use as a safety net, your reality should include your health, your job security, your spouse's longevity, market conditions, policy changes, and a dozen other variables that could burn down your perfect plan.

Before we move on, just a quick reminder.

I would love if you liked this episode or shared it, subscribe if you're finding it valuable.

By the end of this episode, you'll have my complete secure framework that tells you exactly when to claim based upon six personal factors and you'll never second guess your decision again.

Now let me introduce you to the framework I think changes everything when it comes to making this decision on Social Security.

I call it the Secure Framework and it's an acronym, so I'm going to go over each one in a little bit of detail.

You can go to my website to see the rest of the detail of the framework and you'll have the ability to download a free PDF that you can use to make this decision.

Now, I created the Secure Framework because I was tired of watching People make life altering decisions based upon generic advice.

This framework evaluates six critical factors and gives you a personalized score that tells you when you should claim.

So the S in the secure framework is sequence risk.

What's your portfolio vulnerability?

Sequence risk is the danger of poor market returns early in retirement, especially when you're taking withdrawals.

If you retire into a bear market and you're pulling money from your portfolio, you can permanently damage your long term wealth.

And here's where Social Security becomes critical.

It's a guaranteed income stream that reduces how much you need to withdraw from your portfolio during those vulnerable early years.

So the scoring is 10 points for extreme sequence risk if your portfolio is less than 10x your annual Social Security benefit or you need to withdraw 8% annually if you delay claiming and you have limited cash reserves then you score 7 points for high sequence risk.

Your portfolio is 10 to 15 times your annual Social Security benefit.

You need to withdraw 5 to 7% annually.

If you delay you have two to three years of cash reserve.

The four points for moderate sequence risk.

This would be if Your portfolio is 15 to 25 times your annual Social Security benefit and you need to withdraw 3 to 5% annually if you delay and then 1 point if you have low sequence risk portfolio is 25 times your annual Social Security benefit.

And the E in the secure framework is expectation.

What's your life expectancy now?

This is simple but pretty critical.

Look at your family history and health.

If you have limited longevity you get 10 points.

It's kind of average longevity four to seven points.

If you have long longevity in your family you get one point and the C in the secure framework is capacity.

What's your health span in activity timeline?

This is the question most advisors never ask.

When will you actually do the things you've been dreaming about?

If you want to travel the world like hike Machu Picchu or spend time with your grandkids while you're healthy enough to enjoy it, that's probably in your 60s and early 70s, not your late 70s or 8.

So the scoring is you get 10 points for a front loaded activity timeline.

You have a bucket list, adventure activities, active grandparenting and some priorities.

And you've deferred a ton of experiences and are ready to go.

You score seven points.

You get early emphasis.

This is moderate travel and activity plans for ages 62 through age 70.

Some physically demanding activities plan but you prefer to front load experiences but could adjust the timing.

Number four is more of a flexible timeline.

You don't have activities that require a ton of peak physical health, you're comfortable spreading experiences across retirement.

You know money at 62 and you can climb mountains is worth more than extra money at 78.

When you're maybe in a rocking chair, let's hope it's that.

78.

Now the next three factors are psychological and honestly I think they're the most important.

Because a perfect financial decision that makes you miserable isn't actually perfect.

We'll talk just a little bit more on that in a moment.

So this leads me to wealth Decision Principle number two Optimize for life lived, not just life expectancy this is where most financial planning goes wrong.

Advisors optimize for maximum money at the end of your life, but that's not the goal.

The goal is maximum life during your life.

If waiting until 70 means you miss eight years of experiences because you're afraid to spend your portfolio, you didn't win, you lost.

If claiming a 62 gives you confidence to actually enjoy retirement, that's worth more than a bigger check at 80.

Optimize for life lived, not just life expectancy One of the things I enjoy the most about my job as a financial advisor is helping people get to retirement and watching all the trips that they go on, all the things that they do.

And I'm really interested also in what you all want to do for retirement.

What bucket list trips do you want to go on and when do you want to do it?

Make a comment below and share your retirement dreams.

I want to know what you're planning.

Now let's move on to the you in the secure framework.

Underspending what's your spending psychology now?

This is huge.

Some people have no problem spending their savings, but others feel physically anxious watching their account balance drop, even though that's what it's there for.

If you're someone who's uncomfortable spending your portfolio, guaranteed Social Security income is psychologically liberating.

It gives you permission to spend because it's income, not savings.

So the scoring here would be 10 points for strong portfolio spending resistance.

You're maybe a lifelong saver who struggles to spend investments.

Watching your portfolio balance decline causes maybe some anxiety, and you'd possibly spend Social Security freely.

But hoard portfolio assets and your advisor maybe has noted to you in the past that you consistently underspend and you can spend more.

You recognize sometimes maybe, that you need permission to spend versus guaranteed income and you get seven points for moderate spending hesitancy.

You're somewhat uncomfortable drawing down your portfolio.

Guaranteed income would increase your spending confidence and you're more frugal than necessary given your asset.

And then you get four points.

This is a more balanced approach.

You're comfortable with reasonable portfolio withdrawals.

Your income source doesn't significantly affect your spending behavior.

Now let's move on to the R and the secure framework, and that's regret.

How would you feel about different outcomes?

This is the emotional risk tolerance question.

Two scenarios.

Scenario A.

You claim at 62, enjoy the money but live until 95.

You left some lifetime income on the table.

Scenario B.

You wait until 70 for the maximum benefit but die at 76.

You sacrificed eight years of income for nothing.

Which scenario would you regret more?

10 points for early death Regret Dominance.

The thought of dying at 72 without having claim causes maybe some anxiety.

And you'd get seven points if you feel some regret dying before break even.

Four points if you feel a mild regret in either scenario.

And one point if you'd have longevity regret.

Living in 95 with a smaller benefit would maybe bother you.

Now this is really probably the toughest one to score in the secure framework.

But have you ever thought about the regret that you may have in this filing decision with Social Security?

Now let's move on to the E in the secure framework.

The economic Flexibility do you need portfolio optionality?

This is the final factor.

Do you value having liquid assets you can access or do you prefer guaranteed income?

If you're planning to help your kids with a house down payment, handle potential medical expenses or deal with unexpected costs, claiming early preserves your portfolio for those need.

If you have no major expected expenses and just want to maximize your guaranteed income for life, waiting probably makes more sense.

So the scoring system works like this.

You get 10 points if you have critical flexibility needs.

You anticipate major expenses, helping the kids, long term care, etc.

You want the ability to make some large gifts or donations, and portfolio depletion would eliminate some of those important options.

You'll score 7 points for moderate flexibility preference, 4 points for limited flexibility needs, and 1 point for minimal flexibility needs.

That means that you have no anticipated major expenses or any type of giving, and you prioritize guaranteed lifetime income over optionality.

Now you can go to the description in this podcast to get the entire framework and this will also go into each one in a little more depth and give you examples.

All right, so this is a lot of information.

You learned all six factors.

In just a moment I'm going to show you exactly how to score yourself and what your total score means for your claiming decision.

But first let me talk about the biggest surprise in this framework.

When I run clients through the secure framework, about 60% of them score in the claim early or full retirement age range.

Only about 20% should actually wait until 70.

Now that's the opposite of what the financial industry preaches, but it makes sense when you consider real world factors like health and psychology and life goals, not just pure mathematics on a spreadsheet.

The question isn't what should everyone do?

It's what should you do?

So this leads me to Wealth Decision Principle number three the perfect plan you won't follow.

It's the optimal plan you can't maintain.

This is the ultimate principle for any financial decision, but especially for Social Security.

I can show you scenarios where waiting until 70 produces 500,000 more in lifetime benefits.

But if waiting causes you anxiety, makes you afraid to spend, or forces you to miss experiences you care about, it's not the right plan.

The perfect plan you won't follow beats the optimal plan you can't maintain.

This is why the psychological factors in the Secure Framework matter just as much as the financial ones.

A claiming strategy that doesn't fit your personality, values and life goals will make you miserable, even if it's mathematically optimal.

So here's your step by step action plan to make your Social Security decision.

Action step number one Calculate your secure score.

I've created a Secure Decision Framework worksheet which is linked in the description.

Go through each of the six factors and score yourself honestly.

Action step number two Interpret your score.

This takes about five minutes.

If you scored anywhere between 45 and 60, you should claim early.

You have high sequence risk, shorter longevity expectations or a strong desire for liquidity and flexibility.

If you scored 30 to 44, claim it full retirement age.

You have a balanced profile with moderate risk in longevity outlook.

If you scored 6 to 29, consider waiting until 70.

You have low risk, long life expectancy or a strong desire for maximum survivor benefits.

Action step number three have a financial advisor run the real break even analysis.

Don't use the standard break even calculator.

Use one that accounts for investing early benefits.

I have a great tool to help with this called Income Lab.

If you'd like to schedule a discovery call to have me go over an Income Lab Social Security break even analysis.

There will also be a link in the description of this podcast to schedule your zoom call in.

Action Step number four Consider spousal and survivor benefits.

If you're married, run the analysis for both spouses.

Often the optimal strategy is the lower earning spouse claims early and the higher earning spouse delays to maximize survivor benefits.

The survivor benefit is based upon the higher earners benefits, so delaying can protect your spouse if you die first.

Now take all this information and make your decision based upon your situation.

Not conventional wisdom, not what worked for your neighbor, not what some TV financial guru said.

This is your retirement.

Own the decision.

And here's what I would love if you did right now.

If you haven't subscribed yet, do that now.

Second, download my free Secure Social Security Decision Framework.

In the description of this podcast, it takes about 20 minutes to score yourself and this single worksheet can change everything when it comes to making this important decision.

And third, go to the pin comment and answer this what's your biggest fear about claiming Social Security?

Dying too early or living too long?

I want to hear what keeps you up at night about this decision.

And next week's episode is going to change how you think about taxes forever, so you're not going to want to miss that one.

Until then, make the Social Security decision that's right for your life, not someone else's spreadsheet.

This is Brian, the Wealth Decisions Guy, and I hope to see you next week.