PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 78

TOTAL BENEFITS
Finding the Best Course
W
Smarter Social Security and DC plan withdrawal optimization
hen and how to claim Social
Security may be, in a very real
sense, the largest single pointin-time
financial decision over most individuals'
lifetimes.
Despite this, Baby Boomers retiring
today are not doing enough to smartly
coordinate the claiming of Social Security
with defined contribution (DC) retirement
plan withdrawals, warns William Meyer,
founder and managing principal of Social
Security Solutions in Leawood, Kansas.
Better decisions in this domain can
dramatically reduce lifetime tax burdens
and extend the life of a retirement portfolio
by a decade or longer, he says.
Not just individual claimants are
falling short. Results of a recent Social
Security Administration (SSA) audit by
the U.S. inspector general, published
February 14, show that the federal retirement
benefit program is broadly underpaying
widows-and other groups of
beneficiaries, which, Meyer argues, is a
nationwide issue of retirement security.
He discussed the subject in front of
the U.S. Senate more than a year ago. Since
then, no action has been taken by Congress
or the Donald Trump administration-
and the possibility of direct action on the
topic ahead of the 2018 midterm elections
seems quite remote, Meyer says.
" To put the problem simply, the
SSA does not have the necessary tools
and analysis to notify widows of when
they could switch from survivor benefits
back to their retirement benefit to secure
more money, " Meyer explains. " There is
a flaw in the system, such that the Social
Security agents don't have the ability to
recommend the strategy in question, in
part because they don't have the training
needed to recognize this situation and in
part because they aren't even really allowed
to give advice or recommendations in the
78 PLANSPONSOR.com April-May 2018 Art by Lily Padula
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PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018

2018 Plan Sponsors of the Year
Plan Administration Guide, Part 1
From Strength to Strength
Finding the Best Course
Managed Accounts
Rising Costs
Taking Responsibility
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - FC1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - FC2
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C2
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 2
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 3
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 4
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 5
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PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 13
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 14
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 15
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 2018 Plan Sponsors of the Year
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 17
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 18
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PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 54
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 55
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Plan Administration Guide, Part 1
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 57
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 58
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 59
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 60
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 61
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PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 65
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 66
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 67
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - From Strength to Strength
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 69
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 70
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 71
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 72
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 73
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PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 75
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 76
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 77
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Finding the Best Course
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 79
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Managed Accounts
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 81
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Rising Costs
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 83
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - Taking Responsibility
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 85
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 86
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 87
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - 88
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C3
PLANSPONSOR - April/May 2018 - C4
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