OUR COURSES

Social Security is one of the most valuable retirement assets available to today’s retirees. Advance planning is essential, and the decisions you make now can have a tremendous impact on the total amount of benefits you and your spouse receive over your lifetime. This adult financial education workshop will provide you with the fundamental knowledge needed to help you understand the system, coordinate spousal and survivor benefits, minimize taxes, and maximize your personal benefits.

Whether you´re single, married, divorced, or widowed, there may be ways to maximize the lifetime Social Security benefits you receive. In order to do so, it´s important that you have a strong understanding of the following issues:

• How married couples can coordinate benefits to help enhance spousal and survivor benefits
• Claiming a spousal or survivor benefit while still earning delayed retirement credits
• How “restricted application”, “do over”, and “start, stop, restart” strategies work
• Working may cause you to forfeit monthly benefit checks
• The role proper integration of Social Security benefits with other sources of retirement income plays in minimizing or eliminating taxes 
• Claiming your worker benefits prior to full retirement age (FRA) lowers your spousal benefit at your full retirement age
• The effect remarriage has on your ability to collect spousal benefits and survivor benefits 

One of the most important decisions you need to make before you retire is when and how to claim Social Security benefits. The difference between an optimal and sub-optimal filing strategy could cause you to inadvertently forego more than $100,000 in benefits during your lifetime!

This course will focus on the important filing rules that affect the amount of retirement benefits you collect, as well as strategies for coordinating Social Security with other sources of retirement income.

We understand that everyone learns differently. That's why we offer personalized learning experiences tailored to your needs.

When it comes to Medicare, you have choices. Knowing how to navigate these choices and identify which programs are most suitable to your physicians, prescriptions, and the care you desire can be an overwhelming task.

By the end of class this course you will be able to answer all of the following questions for yourself:

• What do I need to do before enrolling in Medicare?
• What if I have health coverage at work & don’t want to retire yet?
• When is the best time to buy a Medicare Supplement?
• What are Medicare Parts A, B, C and D?
• Are all Medicare Supplements created equal?
• What are the differences between Medicare Supplement & Advantage plans? 
• Why are networks critical to Medicare Advantage plans?
• Will I be forced to go through underwriting?
• What healthcare costs will Medicare NOT cover?
• Many physicians will not accept Medicare...how do I find a plan that will work with my doctors?
• Are my prescriptions covered? What is the “Donut Hole?”
• Do I have deadlines to enroll? Will I be subject to a surcharge if I don’t enroll at the right time?

Social Security filing decisions made today can have a profound impact on your life and the life of your spouse. With nearly 3,000 filing rules and more than 500 possible filing combinations Social Security represents, arguably, the most dynamic tool in the retirement income planning toolbox. In spite of the fact that Social Security’s economic value is routinely overlooked by the financial services industry one cannot deny the profound impact it can have on the looming retirement savings crisis. Optimized Social Security filing strategies regularly reduce the amount of retirement savings required to fully fund a plan by as much as 50% leaving the future much more secure for surviving spouses. This is particularly true for married women given

• 80% of men die married, 80% of women die single.*
• 50% of women widowed after age 65 will outlive their husband by 15 years.*
• The percentage of 65-year-old married woman who live in poverty climbs nearly FIVE fold once they are widowed.**
• Poverty among single woman reflects low lifetime earnings and spotty pension coverage, whereas poverty among widows’ results from the exhaustion of financial resources.** 

In addition to addressing the value of protected lifetime income, this workshop will study how an optimized Social Security filing strategy can provide unmatched protection against the threat of outliving one’s assets. Specifically, we will explore how unprecedented longevity coupled with the ongoing and unrelenting increases in health care costs can be neutralized by maximizing all sources of protected lifetime income. We understand that everyone learns differently. That's why we offer personalized learning experiences tailored to your needs. 

We understand that everyone learns differently. That's why we offer personalized learning experiences tailored to your needs.

As the first generation in history to be largely responsible for funding the bulk of your retirement income, it’s important you are aware of the traps that lay ahead once you cross into the “Danger Zone”. Many Boomers are well aware of the issues that lurk once you reach retirement age, but few understand the subtle but critical issues you must manage once you enter the Retirement Planning Red Zone.  If you're between the ages of 50 and 55 this course is an absolute must. Join us while our instructors walk you through the do's and dont's of the RED ZONE or suffer the irreversible consequences so many have experienced thanks to the catastrophic effects of "dollar cost ravaging" and the resulting Retirement Date Risk. With 94% of working American households NOT on target to reach their retirement savings goals* it's easy to assume, as a nation, we are poor savers, but nothing could be further from the truth. Today's retirees aren't poor savers, they're victims of bad timing and a lack of quality information. Attending this course will change  that and empower you to make the right decisions at the right time and lead you to the retirement promised land!

*National Institute on Retirement Security