462: Strategies to Maximize Your Social Security Benefits with Mary Beth Franklin

Today, I'm talking to Mary Beth Franklin. Mary Beth is a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, a former Capitol Hill reporter at United Press International, and the retirement and tax editor at Kiplinger Personal Finance. She also has a new edition of her bestselling book, Maximizing Social Security Benefits, a must-read for retirees and pre-retirees.

My first interview with Mary Beth was our most downloaded and most watched episode of this podcast, so I'm thrilled to have another chance to talk to her about Social Security (and if you haven't listened to that first episode, be sure to do so before diving into this one, as it covers the foundational elements of Social Security).

In today's conversation, we discussed what's changed about Social Security over the last several years, how to take advantage of these changes in your financial and retirement planning, and, of course, the future of Social Security and its potential insolvency. You'll also hear what semi-retirement looks like for Mary Beth, as she very recently semi-retired herself, and shares advice for anyone who still enjoys working in their pre-retirement years.

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In this podcast interview, you'll learn:

• Why so many of the Social Security claiming strategies that became popular in the late 2000s have disappeared.
• What it would mean for Social Security to become insolvent–and why it's highly unlikely for anything to be done about it anytime soon.
• How your Social Security is calculated, and how to get a clear picture of what your benefits look like (or would look like) right now.
• Why more people regret claiming benefits too early rather than too late.
• Social Security claiming strategies that haven't been eliminated by Congress, especially for divorced and widowed retirees.
• What Mary Beth has learned from her husbands' retirement and her own semi-retirement.

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Show Notes: Howardbailey.com/462

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