Advanced Social Security Topics: Mastering More Obscure Rules & Strategies (Completed)

For Baby Boomers, the effect of an educated, well-timed Social Security income election decision can lead to an increase in retirement standard of living and longevity of portfolios.

Often clients may have special situations such as, working while collecting Social Security, a pension from non-covered employment, or a disabled child that make the Social Security decision more complex.

This 2-hour course will provide you with detailed knowledge about the Advanced Social Security topics that are not so frequently encountered, but must be understood to provide accurate, in-depth advice when offering Social Security and retirement income planning services to a broad base of clients and prospects.

This course also includes a summary of the most recent Social Security rule changes made in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 and signed into law on November 2, 2015. For a detailed discussion of the BBA 2015 please see our course, Social Security Income: Indispensable Information for Financial Professionals

Who Should Attend
Tax and Financial Professionals wanting to broaden their knowledge of Social Security to a higher level in order to offer this service to a broader base of clients who may have special situations and need help with this election decision. This course is also for those who want to gain broaden their knowledge on this topic, but who may want to outsource more complicated cases to a qualified professional. Including the following licenses and certifications: Tax Professionals: CPAs, Enrolled Agents Financial Professionals: CFP, IAR, Life & Annuity Agents, CLU, CPRC, CFS, ChFC, CIC, and CIMA.

Topics Covered

• A summary of Social Security rule changes in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015
• Who is affected by the Windfall Elimination Provision, WEP
• How WEP is calculated and how it affects the claimant's Social Security income
• Who is affected by the Government Pension Offset, GPO
• How GPO is calculated and its impact on the claimant's Social Security income
• When the Earnings Test rule applies to retirees and the specific threshold earnings amounts to watch for
• The truth about a common misunderstanding of the Earnings Test rule
• How Social Security income is taxed and why it is called a "stealth tax"
• What the Family Maximum Benefit, FMB, is and who it applies to
• Examples of the FMB related to dependent and disabled children, ex-spouses, parents and survivorship benefits
• The basics about how Social Security applies to Domestic Partners, including a sample case study

Learning Objectives

• Explain how the WEP calculation affects a worker's Primary Insurance Amount
• Differentiate between those people affected by the WEP and GPO rules
• Evaluate a case study for the Earnings Test
• Determine if, and up to what percentage of a retirees' SS income will be taxed when given the amount of Combined Income
• Describe the Family Maximum Benefit, FMB
• Estimate the FMB for a given case example
• Calculate the effect the GPO will have on a claimant's Social Security income
• Calculate the WEP PIA and the resulting Social Security benefit for a sample case
• Identify the optimal Social Security claiming decision between two given sets of circumstances
• Recall the factors that determine whether Domestic Partners are eligible for Social Security benefits
• Summarize the factors that determine eligibility for domestic partners to collect Social Security under the spousal rules and strategies

Level
Advanced

Instructional Method
Group: Internet-based

NASBA Field of Study
Administrative Practice (2 hours)

Program Prerequisites
This is an advanced course and it is highly recommended that you have attended the Basic level course prior to taking this course. It is meant for participants who have a thorough understanding of the basic Social Security terms, rules and strategies, but desire further understanding of the advanced topics to help them broaden their base of clients.

Advance Preparation
None