Most people think the right age collect Social Security is when you're going to get the biggest

check. But after years and years of working with real retirees, I can tell you the right age

isn't just about maximizing the spreadsheet. It's about what fits best into your life and your

overall financial plan. So today I'm going to show you by collecting too early or even too late

can quietly cost you far more than you realize. The important thing to realize about social security is that too often is presented just as a trade-off or it's presented just as a break-even, where if you live past some age, you're better off delaying your benefit, but if you pass away before that age and you're better collecting early, that's part of it, but that's a very narrow part of it. And what I want to show you today is how social security and your decision of when to collect

impacts all of your actual retirement strategy. And when I say all of it, I mean, it impacts your taxes. It impacts your portfolio. It impacts your surviving spouse's ability to protect their income. Those are the things I want to cover today to help you understand when it might be best for you to take your benefit. So to understand this in

its proper context, let's back up and understand how is Social Security calculated in the first

place. You have what's called a primary insurance amount. That's the amount that you'll receive

at your full retirement age. For most of you, your full retirement age is going to be somewhere

between the age of 66 and 67. My guess is for most of you watching, it'll be at 67. So how is that primary insurance amount calculated? Well, it's calculated by Social Security taking a look at your highest 35 years of earnings. So over the course of your working lifetime, maybe you've got some odd jobs in high school, maybe it's some odd jobs in college, maybe you work sporadically in your 20s, 30s, 30s, whatever it is, Social Security looks at your top 35 years of earnings.

Now, I know what you're saying. maybe it's some odd jobs in college, maybe you work sporadically in your 20s, 30s, 40s, whatever it is,

social security looks at your top 35 years of earnings. Now, I know what you're thinking, you're

probably earning a whole lot more today than you are 30 years ago. That's why social security

inflation adjust this. They look at what's called your average indexed monthly earnings. So taking

inflation into account, how much do you pay into

Social Security every single year? Social Security then uses all that, and it goes through a

calculation that helps them calculate or helps them determine how much you are eligible for

at your full retirement age. That's called your primary insurance amount. Your PIA is what you

are eligible for at your FRA or your full retirement age.

Now, what if you don't have 35 years of earnings?

If you don't have 35 years of earnings, let's say maybe you have 30,

Social Security will use zero for those remaining five years.

...