8 Emerging Forces Shaping Income and Social Security Planning: Marcia Mantell

Experts in financial planning commonly argue that the average American's choice about when and how to claim their Social Security benefit is the single most important financial decision they will make in their lifetime. As noted by Social Security expert Marcia Mantell, the founder and president of Mantell Retirement Consulting Inc. and frequent contributor to ThinkAdvisor, optimizing the claiming decision can result in tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional lifetime wealth. On the other hand, making mistakes can result in undue financial hardship during retirement, especially in cases where married couples fail to carefully coordinate their claiming strategies. It is also critical to put the Social Security claiming decision in its proper context — alongside considerations about the client's broader investment portfolio, lifestyle expectations and longevity projections. In the second episode of the Ask the Retirement Expert podcast, Mantell highlights the latest trends in retirement planning and Social Security optimization, with a focus on what advisors should discuss and consider pursuing with their clients. During the discussion, Mantell listed the key Social Security issues advisors should be watching most closely, and why. She also tackle tough questions about what inflation and market volatility mean for retirees on fixed incomes, as well as how advisors should be thinking about key developments in the annuity marketplace. See the slideshow for eight highlights from the podcast episode.