The Case for Patience: Why Waiting for Social Security Pays Off

Listen Now:

The Smart Take:

Learn more about the Retire Smarter Solution ™: https://www.truewealthdesign.com/ep-45-retire-smarter-solution/

Sign up for our newsletter on our podcast page: https://www.truewealthdesign.com/podcast/

Have questions?

Need help making sure your investments and retirement plan are on track? Click to schedule a free 15-minute call with one of True Wealth’s CFP® Professionals.

Subscribe:

Click the below links to subscribe to the podcast with your favorite service. If you don’t see your podcast listed with your favorite service, then let us know, and we’ll add it!

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• TuneIn
• Amazon Music

The Hosts:

Kevin Kroskey, CFP®, MBA – About – Contact

Tyler Emrick, CFA®, CFP® – About – Contact

Episode Transcript:

Tyler Emrick:

Your social security strategy isn’t just a financial decision, it’s the cornerstone of many retirement plans. Tune in today to learn how to avoid costly mistakes and maximize your benefits for a happier, more secure retirement.

Walter Storholt:

It’s another edition of Retire Smarter, welcome back. Walter Storholt here, alongside Tyler Emrick. He makes his return after a three-episode break, where Kevin was at the helm of leading things. But yes, Tyler, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER at True Wealth Design, also a chartered financial analyst and wealth advisor with the team. Back again, and he promises that we won’t be as deep and complex as the last three episodes were. So Tyler, your presence is welcome, as much as we love Kevin, it’s nice to … Towels was quite the series that we had on the last couple of episodes.

Tyler Emrick:

No, it’s a good one, if anybody’s listening hasn’t gone back over that three-part series, I mean, it truly is … Yeah, I think it’s going to be revolutionary and something to be aware of, and some of the good work that we’re doing. But yeah, so we’re coming to the end of the year, I mean, shoot, new Year’s is almost upon us here, so we might as well take it a little bit easier on today’s podcast, I promise. And no alerts, or egghead alerts-

Walter Storholt:

No egghead alerts today?

Tyler Emrick:

… or anything like that, that’ll be popping up on this one, I’m sure.

Walter Storholt:

That’s right, Tyler said before the episode today, I did not need to preload the egghead alert, we should be safe today.

Tyler Emrick:

No, although you do have some pretty good chimes on the last episode. I have pretty much no chimes, and I think Kevin’s up to two or three now. I’m going to have to work on something, or maybe we’ll have to [inaudible 00:01:38] eventually.

Walter Storholt:

You need your own wiggle factor of some sort, yes. Yes, definitely.

Tyler Emrick:

Yes, he’s got me saying wiggle factor all the time in meetings, so-

Walter Storholt:

That’s awesome, that’s awesome.

Tyler Emrick:

… his terminology and language has definitely trickled down, that’s for sure.

Walter Storholt:

Well, that’ll be a goal for 2025, we’ll be finding some new imaging, as we like to call it, in the industry, for you to sprinkle in throughout the show, so we’ll put that on the things to do list.

Tyler Emrick:

Sure, no, we’re always trying to innovate, and we’ll see what the new year brings, for sure, I know we had a pretty good conversation about it even before we started recording today, so-

Walter Storholt:

That’s right.

Tyler Emrick:

… yeah, I’m excited for 2025 and what it’s all going to bring. But before-

Walter Storholt:

Well, it’s good to end the year this way, Tyler, because we looked back at the last couple of years and social security is a common end of year topic, but that’s for good reason, because a lot of people like to talk about social security, and they’re interested in it, and it affects them, and so, they end up being well listened to shows. And so, we might as well cover it again, because the information surrounding social security is, in ways, always changing, and so, I’m glad that you’re bringing this to our attention to end the year here.

Tyler Emrick:

Oh, absolutely, yeah, social security is always a great topic, I mean, it’s going to affect the vast majority of us. It’s ever-changing, and there’s been some unique things that have popped up. And certainly, as we do our research as advisors and try to stay up on the changing environment, we’re always running across different articles and headlines, and anytime one catches my eye, as we’ll talk about here today, it kind of triggers, and be like, hey, let’s roll with the podcast and see if we can approach the topic from a little different perspective. So the title that prompted this one today was the $882,000 Social Security Mistake, so a big number.

Walter Storholt:

That’s a pretty big number, yeah.

Tyler Emrick:

Yes, no, absolutely. Now, my intuition was right when I got down into the article and started reading it, I think anytime you put some of these decisions into perspective, it’s good. I mean, social security is going to be a decision that is going to be with you throughout the entirety of retirement, so sometimes when you start looking 20 years, 30 years down the road, it can be hard to quantify what this decision means for the long run, and having some of those numbers, although being very big, I think can be good to set your frame of mind, so we’ll tackle it a little bit here today. But the article was written by an individual who was actually just turning 70 and starting to file for their social security benefit, and he was referencing why he waited and why we might want to, as well.

And from the article’s standpoint, he had a lot of good references that we’ll touch on, but a lot of the data comes from a white paper done by the … Well, actually, it’s a white paper in 2022, so not that long ago, by the National Bureau of Economic Research. That’s a mouthful, isn’t it? Right? National Bureau of Economic Research. And it was a pretty hefty paper, 32-page one, but the title of it was, How Much Lifetime Social Security Benefits are Americans Leaving on the Table. So there were a few statistics there that I’ll just start out here with that I thought were a little bit shocking, and certainly good to frame the social security decision. And the first of which, Walt, was that the white paper showed that about 90% of people between the ages of 45 and 62 would benefit from waiting until age 70 to claim their benefits. Quite a bit, right?

Walter Storholt:

Big number.

Tyler Emrick:

It’s a big number, I mean, 90%, I mean, that’s a pretty staggering skew to delay. And of course, Walt, how many would you suspect probably actually wait until age 70 to take it?

Walter Storholt:

Not many.

Tyler Emrick:

Not many, yeah, yeah, about 10% or so actually end up waiting that long. And when they run the numbers on the math behind that decision of potentially kicking it in early versus taking it at 70, that $182,000 number that caught my eye in the article was their calculation for the median financial loss for those who claimed early. So $182,000 difference between kicking in early versus delaying until age 70. Another way they phrased it was, essentially optimizing the claiming strategy could increase a typical worker’s lifetime spend by about 10%. So essentially by delaying, you could increase the amount of spending throughout retirement by about 10%, which, again, we’re talking long time periods here, Walt, so I mean, 10% can add up pretty substantially over a 20, 30-year time period.

Walter Storholt:

Yeah, there’s a lot that you can … I mean, add 10% to anything in your life, right? 10% higher salary, 10% more time in the day to get things done, just any of those 10% numbers, especially if you spread it out over some time, you can see the significant opportunity that’s there.

Tyler Emrick:

Yeah, no, absolutely. And I gave a little bit of the headlines and what caught my eye through the article, but I figured through most of the podcast today, what we’ll kind of dive into is maybe just talking a little bit about, well, why do individuals claim early, what are some of the decision points that go into that, and how can you maybe think about it from your own personal situation? And then, we’ll just finish up with a little bit of the actual numbers to waiting, and how your payment might be affected. But as always, when I think about the decision that’s ahead of the families and clients that we work with, why do people claim early? And the article was referencing, or one of the first things they referenced was human behavior and instinct gratification, were pretty much lumped in together.

And we talk about just our biases in general when we go into decision makings, I mean, we’ve talked about that multiple times over the podcast. The article references two Duke faculty members who point out the human nature aspect of a decision like this, and the research found that people often see social security as something they have already earned, essentially, a pot of gold that they feel entitled to start spending as soon as possible. I’m not sure if I necessarily agree with that wording per se, but I absolutely agree with the framing of the decision, because I see it time and time again when we’re sitting down with individuals and talking through a decision like this, well, if you’re going to delay taking your social security benefit, likely, you’re not going to delay retirement, so those decisions need to be separated, Walt. Just because you’re retiring, and if you do not start your social security, well, you’re still going to have spend, and you’re still going to need to cover expenses.

So the question becomes is, is where are you going to get that money from? And boy, using your own assets certainly is a lot harder than just spending a social security check that comes in, especially when you start to see your accounts dip down while you’re waiting on delaying those benefits. It can be very, very hard to wrap your arms around, why are we waiting, and why are we delaying this, as we see our accounts depleting down. And of course, too, hey, in some of those financial plans, that spending, especially early in retirement, can be pretty substantial. So it can be kind of a double whammy, dipping into your own assets, delaying social security, seeing the counts go down. And then, of course, we haven’t had a bad market in the last couple of years, but you retire into a 2008 or a 2022, and then you see your investments go down, as well, it can be a lot to swallow.

Walter Storholt:

Yeah, it really can be, and I can understand why sometimes people get confused or frustrated at waiting, and that instant gratification just really tilts the scales to wanting to take action right off the bat.

Tyler Emrick:

Sure, no, absolutely, and I’ve said it, I mean, even earlier here today, but I think it’s really hard, even from a financial advisor standpoint, I mean, I look at these numbers all day every day, but it’s really hard to wrap your arms around like, well, what does this payment mean 20 years down the road, 30 years down the road? You got cost of living adjustments, you got these delayed retirement credits, you got all these things that are going to impact your social security payments.

So when you actually run through the math, go look at it from a financial planning perspective and look at the numbers, even still, it can be a little more difficult to weigh those options and think through it, but it just makes it that much more important to make sure that you feel comfortable as you’re weighing your options and when to start, and how it might impact you down the road. Because of course, what we are talking about here is protecting yourself against a long, happy retirement, which is an odd thing to say, right, Walt? Protecting yourself against a long, happy retirement, but you do have to live-

Walter Storholt:

But the math doesn’t math sometimes, right?

Tyler Emrick:

… Yes. Well, you do have to live a long, happy, healthy retirement to benefit from that delay, which brings us to that second decision point as to why people claim early. And speaking of biases, loss aversion was another one that was referenced in the article. So essentially, that means that the thought of delaying benefits and dying before you break even looms large for many, many individuals, even though the statistics favor delaying. That break even, generally, when you run the numbers, is somewhere in your mid to late-70s, so you do have to live that long before delaying starts to reap the benefits, and you kind of pay yourself back from not getting those benefits earlier in retirement.

Now, statistics show that the average 62-year-old has just under a 60% chance of living until their late 70s, a little more than a coin flip that you’re going to make it to your late 70s, which, again, I think that in itself is sometimes difficult for individuals to think through, whether it be family health history or just your personal health history in general, the vast majority of individuals and families that I meet with certainly have a bias towards, ah, I don’t know if I’m going to make it that long.

Walter Storholt:

I think that’s part of the struggle, right? I mean, it’s the same struggle, it’s not dissimilar to the issue that people have in their 20s trying to say, oh, why am I not spending and using this money that could improve my life today? Why am I putting it off to use it until I’m 65? Like, oh goodness, I don’t want to even think about being that old, let alone trying to plan for it. And it’s really just the same thing, folks that are getting close to retirement, at the beginning of their retirement, they don’t want to think about what they want to … They want to use that money now while they’re able to, and not thinking about it when they’re 80, 90, or beyond.

Tyler Emrick:

Absolutely. Well, and a lot of times, those emotional side of things drives actual behavior, so it’s even more important to feel comfortable with the financial plan and the numbers, even if you are going to delay, and you see your accounts may be going down early in retirement because of that spending, those can be your golden years, when you’re doing more travel when you’re healthy, and you’re trying to really enjoy the fruits of your labor working all that time. And if you feel uncomfortable spending down your money, then maybe you’re not doing all the things that you would feel comfortable doing or would want to do, although your plan says that you’re perfectly fine to do it. So I think there’s a lot that kind of goes into the decision that certainly plays off one another, but that idea of this loss aversion and having to hit that break even age certainly affects many individuals.

Now, as I think about that break even age, I do find that another consideration there that often is very helpful, especially for individuals who are married, it’s important to realize that there are more than one social security benefit that likely is afforded to you. I mean, you have your own benefit that you paid in for that’s based off your earnings history, but you also are going to have what’s called a potential spousal benefit that’s available to you, and then, of course, a widow’s benefit, should your spouse happen to pass away. So you think about that idea of delaying, even delaying until age 70, which, of course, throughout the age 70, I mean, the reason why we’re kind of speaking to that is, that delayed retirement age would be, you get no more benefits by waiting past 70 to take your social security.

So that’s kind of like the cap, Walt, you’re not kicking the can down the road any further than that because there’s really no other benefit to go past age 70. But even if you’re in a situation to where maybe you’re the higher income earning spouse, you delay taking your benefit because of course, your benefit’s higher, so those delayed retirement credits are certainly going to impact you a little bit more, as well. But then, heaven forbid, something happens to you once you turn 70, and you didn’t even get a payment, well, that widow’s benefit would then be applicable to your surviving spouse, and they would be able to switch over and get and reap benefits of you actually delaying. So there is still a benefit there, and it’s not completely gone outside the window, and hey, you delayed for nothing, you’re still delaying for your surviving spouse in that particular scenario, which is extremely helpful.

And then, of course, if your surviving spouse lives until their late 70s, early 80s, then that decision to wait to take it can still be very impactful and better, financially speaking. Now, you run the flip of that Walt, and you’re the individual or you’re the spouse that maybe didn’t pay in as much, so your social security benefit’s a little lower. Well, then, if that same scenario, where you delay until 70, you pass away, well, that widow’s benefit, with the way that it works, is not going to be available to your surviving spouse, because if their benefit’s higher, well, you can’t double dip, you can’t get two benefits from social security, so they would just be able to maintain their current benefit. So there are some, I guess intricate details there to consider as you’re thinking about, hey, it’s not, hey, we all should blindly just wait until age 70 because that’s what the statistics say, especially if you’re married, there are some other considerations here and ways to play it to make it more applicable to your situation, and that would just be one of them.

Walter Storholt:

Yeah, it’s interesting, and I want to make sure to ask you this before the end of the show, but if you want to jump into this now, great, but where in your planning process do you guys fit social security? Are you solving for social security kind of at the front end of the planning process, or do you then use it to fill in gaps at the end of the plan? For the math nerds out there, do you have an order of operations that you tackle these kinds of things?

Tyler Emrick:

We do, I mean, as you think about that decision, it’s one of the big ones that’s going to impact your retirement picture. So when we think about it from a retirement planning standpoint, the assumptions that we make, meaning that, hey, if we assume you take social security at whatever age, that’s going to absolutely have a trickle-down effect into your plan results and what the capabilities of your financial plan are. So we really need to have a very upfront and forward conversation pretty early in the planning process to really gauge, well, what’s your personal preferences, how are you approaching the decision to social security? And then, we take that information, and then, we kind of run our analysis, and then kind of come back and have just a very frank and forward conversation around comfortability, what do the numbers say, based off life expectancies, is the maximizing decision that’s going to give you the most cumulative benefits to, say, your mid-80s, or whatever the case may be, or whatever our life expectancy assumptions are for you?

And then, we have a conversation to go down and get agreement on, well, how do we want to account for that in the plan? And depending on how old you are and how close that retirement decision might be, we might handle that differently. So if you’re in your mid-50s, you might see some changes to social security by the time that you’re actually getting there, applying, certainly, your health might change by that time, that will all be factored into the assumptions that we use inside of the financial plan. If you’re someone that, hey, we’re doing that financial plan, and that decision is upon you and you’re retiring, then of course we might be a little bit more concrete with the way that we build it into the plan, and kind of go ahead and just say, hey, let’s agree upon, or let’s kind of come down to how we’re going to tackle social security.

So I think it’s really case by case, but in either way, it’s something that the conversation is being done and had well before we’re talking about actual plan results and communicating what’s possible and running different scenarios for families on what the retirement picture might look like. So that has everything to do with just how impactful it is, I mean, I think I even mentioned it into the lead end, about how social security for most individuals is going to be the cornerstone of their retirement plan, and the assumptions we make there are going to have big trickle-down effects. It’s not as simple as, hey, our clients are coming in telling us when they’re going to take social security, and we just kind of take their word for it and don’t make any adjustments, it’s a really good collaborative conversation back and forth about the pros and cons.

And there are times when, hey, some individuals are just very hard-pressed on a certain way, and if that’s the case, hey, we’ll build it into the plan that way and see if it might be possible. Because as you’re starting to think about retirement planning, I mean, there’s some art to it, Walt, and certainly, sometimes there’s the financially maximizing decision, but then there’s the, hey, what can the plan afford, and what’s your comfortability, and what is the emotional side of things? And we want to make sure that those are married pretty well and everybody feels comfortable with the plan, because at the end of the day, it’s our family’s plan that we’re working towards and we’re trying to optimize, but it’s their decisions.

Walter Storholt:

Excellent information all the way around, Tyler, any further thoughts or directions we should tackle this social security conversation before wrapping up for the year?

Tyler Emrick:

Yeah, just a couple more, I mean, I sat down with a newer client and family last week, we actually were starting that social security conversation, we had done some light planning, and the first two things they said to me were just, hey, we want to know when we should take it, and is it still going to be there? So those are always the two most prominent questions that I think I certainly get as a financial advisor when we start to broach the subject of social security. And I figured, we’ve talked a little bit about the maximizing decision, but I wanted to kind of unpack that, well, hey, will social security be there? Because I think at this time, however you get your content from a financial planning perspective, or watch the news at all, I mean, most individuals are acutely aware of some of the financial issues that are ahead of social security.

The latest Social Security Trustee’s Report had the trust fund running out right around 2033, it’s always been around 2033, 2034, somewhere right around there, and for those listeners that might not be aware, when I say the trust fund, essentially, that’s the built up excess reserves that social security has to make those social security payments. So if nothing has changed by that time, what would happen is, the only thing that the government would have to pay out social security benefits would be payroll taxes and a handful of other taxes where they get that money. So essentially, most studies show that individuals on social security would take about a 20% haircut, maybe a little bit more, on their social security payment if nothing is getting done. So not that social security would go away if the trust fund runs out in 2033, but there would be a pretty substantial reduction in payments because they would only have the amount of money coming in that they could pay out, there wouldn’t be this kind of call for built up that they can build into.

So when you hear something like that, I think it’s like, well, wow, is social security going to be there? So as I kind of think through and unpack, well, what are some of the options that our politicians have in front of them to kind of, I guess, solve this issue, I feel confident that there’s more than a handful of options that have been floated out there that can be pretty reasonable, the question just becomes is, which one are they going to settle on, and how is it going to be applicable? You can increase payroll taxes, is one that’s gotten floating out there, payroll taxes is how we actually pay into social security. So while you’re working, you look at your pay stub, there’s a percentage of every check that goes into social security.

They could increase the social security wage base, I mean, that’s the individuals for 2025 making about 176,000 a year, once you hit that cap, you no longer pay into social security. So an individual making a half a million dollars a year pays in the same amount to social security as an individual making $176,000 a year. So they could increase that, they call that the social security wage base. And then, of course, there’s a whole host of other ones that we’re not going to go into, the last one I’ll mention would be maybe the adoption of what they call chain CPI. So on our last big tax reform, they introduced this idea of chain CPI, which essentially is, when you think about how social security increases, I think the increase for 2025 is 2.5%, it was a little over 3% last year, and years past, it’s been as high as 8.7%.

So we’ve gotten some pretty hefty increases in social security, so for individuals that are actually drawing social security are intimately familiar with this increase, but each year, the government comes and says, well, hey, this is the calculation that we use to determine what that increase is going to be. Well, if they adjusted the numbers that they use to determine what that increase is, so they use this idea of chain CPI, what that would do would actually lower that cost of living increase by about a quarter percent of what it would traditionally be. So it’s a way for the government to kind of come in and say, hey, we didn’t take away social securities, and we just adjusted the increase that you get each year, and that could be a way for them to fix and really help out the social security trustees and funding.

So again, a whole host of solutions that are out there, I mean, we’ve done a multitude of podcasts on those solutions, and certainly gone into more in-depth on them in past episodes. But will social security be there is another big one, and in conjunction with that, with the new administration coming in, there’s been some ideas, and we’ve gotten some questions around, is the new administration going to actually stop taxing social security? Yes, Walt, the vast majority of individuals drawing social security are actually paying taxes on that social security payment.

Walter Storholt:

Some people don’t realize until they get there, right?

Tyler Emrick:

Right, yeah, it could be as high as 85%. So what I mean by that is, 85% of your social security benefit could then get added to your taxable income, and then, wherever your taxable income falls, you pay whatever percentage in taxes on that 85%, whether that’s 12%, 22%, so on and so forth. So if we start and make it to where social security is no longer being taxed, well, of course, that money is not going to be able to go into that trust funding, and then, could certainly expedite that trust fund running out.

So the Tax Foundation ran some numbers on this, and they’re expecting that if something got passed where social security was not taxed any longer, it would reduce tax revenue by about 1.4 trillion from 2025 to 2034, so not a small chunk of change, and that would expedite that underfunding and trust fund running out by a couple years, so you might be looking at 2030, 2031, somewhere right around there, if something like that were to get passed. So they would have some work to adjust and find that money somewhere if the legislation got passed for them to be able to do that.

But all in all, I think the big thing here is, I’ve been rambling on about, will social security be there, and hopefully, I’ve given you a little bit of comfort, we do think social security is going to be there. Can it be adjusted? Certainly. Will it likely be adjusted? Yes. The question becomes is, how is that adjustment going to actually trickle down to you and I, who are actually going to be drawing that at some point in time? We’ll see, but we do feel pretty confident that social security will be there for our retirees.

And then, just to kind of finish up here, as you kind of think about just in general, the benefits of waiting, just to kind make that concrete, we understand certainly, not everybody can wait, I mean, the statistics that were in the article that I’m referencing here, about 40% of people in their early 60s face health challenges or financial pressures, and really, they actually have to claim social security early. But if you’re listening and you have a retirement plan in place, and you have some assets built up, and you’re afforded the option to make that choice, not everybody has that option, but if you have that option in front of you, when you break down the math numbers, I mean, certainly, you can take social security as early as 62, if your spouse has passed away, you can get a widow’s benefit as early as age 60, but 62 is the big age.

Of course, every month that you wait, social security continues to increase, all the way up until that age of 70, so if we think about your full retirement age, which is 67 for most individuals, that’s when social security assumes you’re going to get your full benefit, and we kind of use that as a starting point. And you’re going to take about a 30% haircut for taking it at 62, and you’re going to gain not quite 30%, but roughly, 30%, and added benefit if you waited and delayed until 70. So it’s a pretty hefty swing, about 30% either way, rough numbers, so when you start thinking about that, and we go back to really what started the entire podcast, hey, the social security mistake of $182,000, that’s what they’re referring to, is those extra payments that you’re going to get by delaying until 70.

So all in all, that’s the general concept there, and as we’re wrapping up the podcast here, if anything you’re kind of gleaning from here, I think the big thing is just understanding that, hey, there’s a decision to be had here, it’s not just, hey, you turn the corner, you retire, and you kick it in no matter what. And certainly, if you’re married and your spouse has a benefit that’s afforded to them, that can complex the decision a little bit more. So just understanding those options, running some of the back of the napkin math, or in our case, Monte Carlo simulations, in actually a little bit more detailed work, can really put you in a situation to make better decisions for you and your family.

Walter Storholt:

I’m just laughing at, sure, we can run the back of the napkin map or a Monte Carlo simulation, as if those two things are very close together.

Tyler Emrick:

Yeah, I had to throw some technical terms in here, Walt. Yeah, I had to throw some technical terms in here while Kevin was showing me up a little bit.

Walter Storholt:

It was just the comparison of the two, the juxtaposition of the napkin and the Monte Carlo simulation.

Tyler Emrick:

Yeah, well, and true, I mean, a lot of individuals will just run the numbers on the difference and just say, hey, it’s going to take me X number of years to make up that difference, but it’s hard to think about, well, how does cost of living adjustments affect that? What if you throw in a spousal benefit or other widow’s benefits that might be afforded to you? It becomes much, much more challenging to do that back of the napkin math, but yeah.

Walter Storholt:

Maybe that’s one of our sounders that we can do for you in 2025, it’s back of the napkin math, or some little thing like that.

Tyler Emrick:

We’ll see how often we get that in there, I don’t know, I don’t know, Walt, we’ll see.

Walter Storholt:

Yeah, and it needs a few more mentions before it gets a little bit of thing made around it. But no, I like that, and my big takeaway from this, Tyler, too, is that sometimes this conversation gets couched, because, hey, that’s our world, as black and white. It’s either, take it at 62 or take it at 70, and here’s the drastic difference, and it’s, oh, I’m missing out on the $182,000, so social security is either going to be there or it’s going to disappear completely out of thin air.

And the truth always is somewhere in the middle and never goes as fast, I think, as things get represented, and so, for the right person, it may be 64, it may be 68, it may be 67, it may be 62 or 70, that they end up taking that. So don’t view things quite as clear-cut or so binary in your choices, it’s going to have a gray area, and it’s going to have a sliding scale, and depend on who you are and what your situation is. And that’s a good thing, right? It’d be easier if it was just A or B, but it’s also a good thing that it’s not, because it gives us all that flexibility.

Tyler Emrick:

No, absolutely, I agree wholeheartedly.

Walter Storholt:

Excellent. Well, hey, if you are wondering how you can take advantage of a review of your financial plan with the True Wealth Design team, if you’ve been a listener to the podcast for a long time, or even if you’re relatively new, you can certainly see the value in having these kinds of conversations, but how even better that would be to have it specifically about your situation, rather than the generalities we’re able to talk about here on the podcast.

So if you’d like to set up that time to meet, to see if you’re a good fit with the True Wealth Design team, all you have to do is go to truewealthdesign.com, click on the Are We Right For You button, and you can schedule a 15-minute call with an experienced advisor on the True Wealth team. Again, that’s at truewealthdesign.com, or you can call 855-TWD-plan, 855-TWD-plan. We’ve got all that contact information in the description of today’s show. Tyler, final episode of 2024 is in the books, my friend, and we’ll pick up right where we left off in 2025. Looking forward to it.

Tyler Emrick:

[inaudible 00:31:11] have a good New Year.

Walter Storholt:

Yeah, enjoy the holidays, everybody, Happy New Year to you, and we’ll see you in the new year. For Tyler, I’m Walter, we’ll see you next time on Retire Smarter.

Speaker 3:

Information provided is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment tax or legal advice. Information is obtained from sources that are deemed to be reliable, but their accurateness and completeness cannot be guaranteed. All performance reference is historical and not an indication of future results. Benchmark indices are hypothetical and do not include any investment fees.