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Joe Anderson, CFP\xae and Alan Clopine, CPA discuss Social Security strategies for couples claiming spousal benefits in episode 75 of the YMYW podcast, as well as strategies for single people to consider. "Big Al" closes the hour discussing the downsides of annuities. Original publish date October 22, 2016 (hour 1). Note that content may be outdated as rules and regulations have changed.

00:00 - Intro

02:25 - \u201cMany Americans will be living solely off Social Security... people are going to need to play catch-up.\u201d

04:50 - \u201cThere are new law changes that happened with Social Security last year when it comes to restricted application and file and suspend.\u201d

06:24 - \u201cThere are two different benefits that you claim from Social Security if you\u2019re married: you can claim your own or you can claim the spousal benefit. The spousal benefit represents 50% of your spouse\u2019s benefit.\u201d

10:10 - \u201cJust a couple of years deferring your Social Security and deferring your overall retirement means added savings and added benefits.\u201d

11:10 - \u201cThe full retirement age right now is age 66\u2026but you can delay it as late as age 70. Every month you delay Social Security\xa0you get an increased benefit.\u201d

11:58 - \u201cIf you look at us collectively, it makes sense to wait. But if you look at us individually, it\u2019s a whole different matter. Even though we try to tell people to wait until they\u2019re 70, there are situations when you should take it early. One situation is if you\u2019re disabled.\u201d

13:38 - \u201cIf you push it (your Social Security benefit) out three years, it adds 30% more income.\u201d

21:45 - \u201cWhich annuity is better for a hands on investor?\u201d

25:25 - \u201cVariable annuities are very expensive\u2026understand that variable annuities have high internal costs\u2026and people are purchasing them for guaranteed income.\u201d

29:19 - \u201cYou have to look at the present values of those future cash flows to figure out what your internal rate of return is.\u201d

30:34 - \u201cIn most cases I would not recommend a variable annuity, I would recommend an immediate annuity. An immediate annuity means you\u2019re going to give your money to an insurance company and immediately receive income. That\u2019s the cleanest way to receive guaranteed income.\u201d

37:35 - \u201cWhen it comes to retirement accounts, one of the things that is often overlooked is taxes.\u201d