Maximize Social Security Benefits in Alpharetta, GA
Coordinate Your Claiming Strategy for the Long Run
Social Security claiming is usually a household decision. It's largely permanent once made. We help you think it through before you file.
Fee-Only • Fiduciary • Independent RIA • CFP®, ChFC® • 30+ Years Serving North Atlanta
It's a Decision for Your Whole Household
Social Security is often treated as a personal choice: when do I file? But if you're married, your claiming decision also shapes what your spouse receives, both while you're alive and after you're gone. At Daner Wealth Management, we help high-income professionals and executives in Alpharetta, Roswell, and Johns Creek coordinate Social Security timing with their full household picture.
When to Start This Conversation
You may be ready for this conversation if you're within a few years of age 62, approaching your full retirement age, or married with a meaningful gap between your and your spouse's earnings history. These decisions are largely permanent once you file, so it's worth thinking them through in advance rather than deciding under pressure.
Our Process
We start with a conversation about your health, income needs, other assets, and marital situation. From there, we help you think through:
- Coordinating Your Timing as a Household. Under current Social Security rules, a spouse can receive up to 50% of the higher earner's benefit, and delaying past full retirement age adds a delayed retirement credit each year up to age 70. Claiming at 62 instead can reduce a benefit by up to 30%. We help you weigh these tradeoffs against your specific situation rather than following a generic rule of thumb.
- Protecting Your Survivor's Income. When one spouse passes away, the survivor generally keeps the higher of the two benefits, not both. The claiming age of the higher earner can meaningfully shape what the survivor lives on for the rest of their life. This is one of the most overlooked parts of Social Security planning, and it's a topic we've written about in the context of the widowhood penalty.
- Coordinating With Taxes and Medicare. Social Security benefits may be taxable depending on your combined income, and RMDs can push that number higher right as your benefit begins. Some clients use Roth conversions during the years before they claim to manage this. We help you see how tax planning around IRMAA and other thresholds fits your specific timeline before you file.
- Fitting Social Security Into Your Broader Income Plan. We look at how Social Security works alongside pension income and your broader retirement income strategy, as part of one coordinated plan.
As a fiduciary, every recommendation is built around your interests, not a product. We don't sell annuities or earn commissions tied to how or when you claim.
We don't charge by the service or take commissions on products we recommend. As a fee-only firm, we charge an all-inclusive percentage of assets under management, generally 0.75%–1.25% annually, so our only incentive is doing right by your plan. We'll walk you through exactly what that means for your situation before you commit to anything.
Why Choose Daner Wealth Management
Marc Daner, CFP®, ChFC®, has helped clients coordinate Social Security decisions as part of a full retirement plan for more than 30 years. As an independent, fee-only fiduciary, we're required by law to act in your best interest, not selling products or earning commissions. We explain your options in plain language and stay with you as your plan evolves.
Talk to Marc
If Social Security timing is on your mind, we'd welcome the conversation before you file. Schedule a consultation with Marc Daner to talk through how your claiming decision fits your full financial picture.
Social Security FAQs
Get your questions answered about Social Security.
A spousal benefit is available while both spouses are alive and can pay up to 50% of the higher earner's benefit, but only once the higher earner has filed. A survivor benefit becomes available after a spouse passes away and can pay up to 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit. The two work differently, and confusing them is a common and costly mistake.
Not necessarily. Many couples find it works better for one spouse to claim earlier while the other delays, depending on income needs, health, and the gap between their benefit amounts. We help you model your specific situation rather than assuming both should file together.
Yes, but if you claim before your full retirement age and continue working, an earnings test may temporarily reduce your benefit above a certain income threshold. We help you understand how this could affect your specific situation before you file.
In some cases, yes. If the marriage lasted at least 10 years and you're currently unmarried, you may be eligible for benefits on an ex-spouse's record without affecting their benefit. We help clients navigate these situations as part of our broader focus on planning for women through life transitions.
Not entirely. According to the Social Security Administration, the program is expected to pay full scheduled benefits until its trust fund is projected to be depleted around 2037, after which it could still pay a reduced but meaningful portion of benefits unless Congress acts before then. We factor this uncertainty into your broader plan rather than assuming it resolves itself. (Related reading: avoiding running out of money in retirement.)
