The Social Security tab allows you to model different claiming scenarios for the plan and maximize the lifetime benefit automatically.
A focused annual illustration of projected Social Security benefits is found in the Social Security view under the Income tab.
All of the client parameters under the Clients tab must be completed for the system to provide claiming scenario data.
Spousal benefits will be automatically calculated, and if higher than the primary benefit of the client, assumed to be claimed. If the primary benefit will be higher than the spousal benefit when the specified claim age is reached, the benefit will switch over from spousal to primary automatically.
The system to models what percentage (up to 85%) of the Social Security benefit will be taxable as ordinary income based on the household income and filing status each year.
Configuring Benefits
The Social Security table has a row for each client, showing their modeled Claim Age, Primary Insurance Amount, and Monthly Benefit.
Clicking on the CONFIGURE CLAIM STRATEGY button will launch a window where inputs can be made and claim strategies can be adjusted.
Primary Insurance Amount inputs are available for each client. The PIA is the projected benefit for the client if they were to claim at their Full Retirement Age (FRA). Read more
Already claimed? allows you to enter a current benefit amount for a client who is already receiving Social Security payments. The value entered should be pre-tax and before any withholding for Medicare premiums and IRMAA.
When indicating that clients have “Already Claimed” their Social Security benefits, a new date input field now appears. This is designed to collect the date at which the client originally claimed their benefits. By entering the client’s current benefit as well as their original claim date, the system now calculates their Primary Insurance Amount that was applicable at their Full Retirement Age to more accurately project spousal benefits.
If both clients are listed as Already Claimed, there will be no difference in benefit projection between the Strategy chosen below.
Strategies represent different combinations claim ages.
- Earliest will choose the earliest age at which each client could claim. If they are over 62, it will assume their current age.
- Maximum Benefit will select the ages at which the highest benefit would be provided over the entire plan, including the survivorship period.
- Custom Age will default to using each client’s FRA, or their current age if they have already passed their FRA. When selected, the Custom Claim Age year & month fields at the bottom of the form will become available for editing so that you can enter any combination of valid ages.
Cost of Living Adjustments (CoLAs) are the inflationary assumptions made for future years’ benefits. If available, next year’s benefit will default to the figure published by the Social Security Administration. If unavailable, the HealthView Services default estimates will be used. These figures can be adjusted and are specific to this plan scenario.
Clicking SAVE will apply your changes, fetch updated benefit projections, and recalculate the plan accordingly.
Government Pension Offset / Windfall Elimination Provision (GPO/WEP)
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) are two separate provisions that reduce regular Social Security benefits for workers and their eligible family members if the worker receives (or is entitled to) a pension based on earnings from employment not covered by Social Security.
The Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) is a formula used to adjust Social Security worker benefits for people who receive “non-covered pensions” and qualify for Social Security benefits based on other Social Security–covered earnings. a A non-covered pension is a pension paid by an employer that does not withhold Social Security taxes from your salary, typically, state and local governments or non-U.S. employers.
More info about WEP can be found here.
The Government Pension Offset (GPO) adjusts Social Security spousal or widow(er) benefits for people who receive “non-covered pensions.” A non-covered pension is a pension paid by an employer that does not withhold Social Security taxes from your salary, typically, state and local governments or non-U.S. employers.
More info about GPO can be found here.
If one or both of the clients in a household have one or more pensions that would trigger GPO/WEP, you can configure them by clicking the CONFIGURE GOVT PENSIONS button. This will open a window where you can select the clients with pensions by toggling them on.
Any existing Other Income items of type ‘Pension’ will appear as checkable options. Any pensions selected in this list will be considered in the Social Security benefits calculation which may result in a reduced benefit estimate. Changes made in the Other Income area to the pension’s start date, amount or COLA will trigger an update of Social Security benefits.
For purposes of benefit calculation, all offset impacts of the selected pension are assumed to end at the death of the pension owner. This will not affect the continuation of projected pension payments if the Other Income pension item end date is designed to reflect ongoing payments to the survivor.
Substantial Years Worked allows you to select how many “substantial earnings years” the client has in their history of paying into Social Security which impacts the calculation of WEP. A full list of annual thresholds for substantial earnings can be found at the end of the SSA WEP overview PDF.
At this time, calculations for pensions taken as “lump sums” are not supported.
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