PLANADVISER - July/August 2019 - 17

Security, as benefits are reduced by $1
for every $2 earned before full retirement
age. This changes to $1 for every
$3 earned at full retirement age for
earnings over $45,360.
Recently, Edward Jones published
an analysis finding that if a person
decided to start taking Social Security
early, at 62, his first annual benefit
would be $18,000. By 80, he would
receive a benefit, adjusted for a 3%
cost-of-living increase every year, of
$30,633. For a person whose full retirement
age is 66 and who starts Social
Security that year, the benefit would
start at $26,988 and rise to $40,812
by the time he turned 80. Someone
starting Social Security benefits at 70
would receive $40,092 in the initial
year and $53,783 at 80.
Kimberly Blanton, author of the
Squared Away Blog published by the
Center for Retirement Research at
Boston College (CRR), says one area
where workers neglect making the
most of Social Security is the spousal
and survivor benefits. She points to
the fact that two out of three men and
women in a recent survey by RAND
Corp. were unaware of the fact that
a divorced person who was married
for at least 10 years is entitled to a
deceased spouse's survivor benefit. In
fact, the divorced spouse would even
get the benefit if the other spouse had
remarried, Blanton notes.
" In the case of couples who were
still married when the spouse died,
the marriage had to last only nine
months for the survivor to get the
benefit, " Blanton says. " Fewer than half
of the people surveyed by the RAND
researchers were aware of this rule. "
According to Blanton, there is also
little understanding that the Social
Security survivor
benefit
is
based
on the higher-earning spouse's work
record. Today, this is still typically the
husband, meaning that a wife who
used to work and is collecting Social
Security based on her work record
is eligible to switch to her husband's
greater benefit after he dies.
" To make the switch, the widow
must file with the Social Security
Administration [SSA], " Blanton says.
-John Manganaro
TALKING POINTS
The Perks of Perseverance
Participants who remained invested in their
401(k) in the decade following the Great
Recession of 2008 saw their average
balances soar 466%, from $52,600 in
the first quarter of 2009 to $297,700 in the
first quarter of 2019.
Source: Fidelity Investments
Why Do You Trust?
Asked what factors build their trust in their
retirement plan providers, participants
cited the following: satisfaction with plan
education provided, transparent fees,
relevant information provided, a belief that
the information is in their best interest, and
the sense that their provider is a partner.
Source: National Association of Retirement Plan Participants, " 2019 Participant Trust and
Engagement Study "
Financial Regrets
Fifty-six percent of Americans report being
disappointed with their overall savings.
Twenty-seven percent say they wish they'd
started saving earlier for retirement, 19%
that they'd saved more for emergencies,
and 10% that they'd saved more for
their child's education.
Source: Bankrate.com
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PLANADVISER - July/August 2019

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