Preview of what we’ll cover today:

📉 How family history influences Social Security timing

✈️ Why pilots face unique health and longevity challenges

⏰ The pros and cons of claiming early

🛡️ The role of pensions in deciding when to claim

🏛️ Concerns about Social Security cuts or changes

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More About This Episode:

If your parents passed away relatively young, it’s natural to wonder whether you’ll face the same fate, and whether that should change how you claim Social Security. In this episode, Ryan discusses how life expectancy, health, pensions, and even your trust in the system can shape the right decision. He breaks down the opportunity costs of claiming early versus waiting, real pilot scenarios, and why the best answer usually requires looking at your full financial picture. If you’ve ever wrestled with whether to take Social Security now or later, this episode will give you clarity and perspective.

Go Deeper Into The Episode:

0:00 – Intro

2:17 – Impact of Family Health History on Social Security Claiming

3:33 – Opportunity Cost and Social Security Strategy

7:42 – Illustrative Examples of Social Security Claiming Strategies

10:19 – Final Thoughts and Recommendations

Resources:

Retire Pilots – https://retirepilots.com

Get your FREE Retirement Toolkit – https://bit.ly/3ZmZsaX

Pilot Tax – https://pilot-tax.com/

The Pilot’s Advisor Podcast is also on video. Watch & Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3EIEBW2

Connect with Pilot-Tax: https://pilot-tax.com/

Episode Transcription:

(Note, this is an automated transcription. Please forgive any errors.)

Walter Storholt  00:00

So if your parents passed away relatively young, it’s only natural to wonder if, unfortunately, you’re going to follow the same path well, and from a financial standpoint, it makes you then start to think, does that change? How should I should approach things like social security and financial planning and other benefits? What we’re going to do today is answer a viewer’s question about this exact topic on today’s episode. So let me grab Ryan and we’ll get started and ask if I’m not going to live to 90 or beyond, should I change how I claim Social Security and other benefits? We’ll find out coming up next back on the pilot’s advisor, once again, I’m Walter Storholt alongside Ryan Fleming, your pilot’s advisor, financial advisor, pilot himself and always guiding us to and through retirement successfully here on the show. And Ryan looking forward to today’s episode as we dive in right away, the viewers question that we’re going to go over here in just a second, and they’re wondering, Hey, I’m not going to live very long, at least, how they’re feeling. And so should that change my whole retirement pictures? Is this a similar question that you get from time to time?

Ryan Fleming  01:06

Well, it’s absolutely something to talk about. And yes, it does come up with Social Security, but it weighs on everything else too. Is, I mean, yeah, you know, taking advantage of your go go years versus your no go years if you have a bad family history or other health problems, but, but I think, I think social security is just a it’s a such a hard conversation. And the reason it is is because, you know, the first thing I asked somebody, when we start talking about Social Security, I go, Well, you know, when are you going to die? You know? And of course, nobody knows when they’re going to die, which is the premise. You sort

Walter Storholt  01:39

of ask it jokingly, and the listener question or viewer question we’re going to show in a second is actually saying, like, giving you the answer, right?

Ryan Fleming  01:48

If you knew that, then it’s just a math equation. Yeah. But now the other side of it is we are trillions and trillions of dollars in debt, and I don’t think social security is going to go away, but I definitely think it’s going to be cut. I mean, and I mean, and I think most people that even have the conversation all agree that at some point in time, Social Security is going to be reduced or means tested. So how to look different? That’s true. How does that change your how does that change the conversation, right?

Walter Storholt  02:15

Yeah. So yeah, our answer today might be totally different in 10 years, because we don’t know what’s going to happen or what might get reshaped?

Ryan Fleming  02:22

Well, go ahead and let’s, let’s find out what the question is, and then we try to go down and ask some of these things.

Walter Storholt  02:27

So it’s an anonymous pilot saying My father died in his late 60s, and my mother died in her early 70s, so I’m not planning to have much longevity myself. Does that mean I should start Social Security as early as I

Ryan Fleming  02:42

can, and I think that that there’s more questions, it depends, right?

Walter Storholt  02:48

Yeah, what about the aunts and the uncles? Like, give us the rest of the family history here,

Ryan Fleming  02:52

maybe. And I can relate to this. You know, my father passed away at 66 his dad passed away in his 60s. So I’m like, Well, I don’t have a very good family history. On top of that, we all know that flying all the time is not healthy on our bodies, and so I don’t care if you’re a Delta pilot or a Southwest pilot being a FedEx or UPS pilots, even worse, because you’re flying at night too, you know, backside of the clock. And there’s tons of data out there just talking about how unhealthy it is. But yet we still have, you know, we still have pilots in retirement that live to 90. But in general, I like to think we don’t have a good track record, you know, or at least have that conversation. The other side of it is nobody talks about taking, you could take Social Security early and then just not spend it okay. So we never really have the conversation of, I want to take my Social Security as early as I can, but then I’m going to start letting that money work for me and grow over time, versus waiting and getting that difference so that there’s a whole conversation there on what the opportunity cost is. The other side of it is, you know, I want to maybe if I take it right now, then I’ll be grandfathered in when they do, when they do, change it or reduce it. So the Social Security conversation has drastically changed over the years. What do you think about it?

Walter Storholt  04:17

Walter, well, I think it’s a good it’s certainly a good question, because I’m a I’m a value person, I’m a maximized person. So how can I get the most bang for my buck? Right? And I think a lot of people are built that way, and so I just don’t want to leave anything on the table, right? Like, I’m willing to spend more if the perceived value is there. I am more than happy to spend less if I feel like it’s a better value, even if the outcome is not as good, right? So like, sometimes I place value over, over everything, and I feel like that currently with Social Security, like, I just want to get the most. I don’t want to leave any on the table. So I’d almost just, personally, I’d rather skew early, just so I can try and say, Oh, I’ve I at least got to collect it for a few years. Even. Mathematically that in I didn’t end up maximizing it because of when I died, at least I gave myself the chance of having it for the most possible years. You know what I mean? Like, that’s, that’s just the way I’m pre wired. I think I’m open to being talked out of that into a better strategy, with looking at the full plan. Like, if we met and looked at everything, Ryan, I’m sure I would be very agreeable to another suggestion, but that’s just like my pre wiring, if that makes sense,

Ryan Fleming  05:21

yeah, well, and there’s no, like, true living benefit. I mean, of course, your spouse can get your social security if it’s higher, but really it is just a math equation, you know, okay, your break even point is going to be this year. Do you think you’re going to live to be that long? And then you make a decision, but, but if you’re, if you’re pulling out of your 401, K or, or something else for living expenses, when Social Security could have made up that difference. There’s an opportunity cost there too, where your 401, k is not growing. I mean, the whole reason to have social security is what it is, is to pay Help, help your living expenses in the in retirement. I think it’s I never want somebody to take it as early as they can. But I think 65 is a great time to take it, where you make that natural transition as a pilot of retiring, pulling Social Security, and then you’re not there’s not as much of that income drain off of your retirement accounts. The waiting the two years to get a higher benefit are going all the way to 70. I think in most cases, the maths against you at that point, I really do. But you know, once again, it How’s your health, how’s your family history, you know? I mean, what are you going to do with the Social Security? Are you going to take it and spend it? Are you going to invest it?

Walter Storholt  06:38

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Ryan Fleming  07:57

I think one of the things that really drives it, to be honest with you, is pensions. If we have a lot of pilots that have a military pension, and then we have a lot of pilots that get a pension from FedEx or UPS, if you have both of those pensions, you don’t have any income problems at all. Very easy to wait, because you see that bigger dollar figure there where I think, and it’s not really surprising, but those that didn’t plan as well, those that don’t have a lot of either a pension or they don’t have a large 401, K balance, tend to have to take it earlier because they just need that money to make the math work. You know, I have to take Social Security to meet my monthly living expenses. And then, sadly, you’re looking at a case. It’s really one of two scenarios, people that have an abundance, and they’re never going to run out of money, and we’re going to watch it just continue to grow off into the sunset. And then that hard question of, well, guess what, Joe, you’re you’re way behind. The math doesn’t add up, but you still got to live life, you know, and you can’t guarantee that they’re going to not run out of money, because the math says they’re going to run out of money. And sadly, there’s pilots that are Uber drivers, there’s pilots that are Walmart attendees, and you’re, you know, 6570 years old and still working, but that’s why the decisions we make in life early on dictate what it’s going to look at look like later. So I mean that, I think that’s the two basic ones, and I think that people’s, I don’t want to say political views, but their view of the government determines whether they’re going to take it or not to like, if there’s not a like, a lot of trust there, I find those that don’t really trust the government, they want to take it right away and get what they can, versus somebody that dull, I’m going to be taken care of. I, you know, I’ll keep deferring because I know they’re going to pay me later. And they’re having that trust, I think they tend to delay a little bit more. I’m. I’m going to be in the middle. I think I’m going to probably take mine earlier and start, you know, getting, getting what I can. But there’s also that aspect of I just don’t think I’m going to live to be 8590 years old. Yeah.

Walter Storholt  10:10

So it sounds like you’ve got at least a tinge of this person’s question kind of in on your own heart a little bit, and that’s interesting to see. But what I’m hearing from you the most as we wrap this up, is just ask a few additional questions. Get rid of your preconceived notion. Get rid of your assumption. Like me needing to get rid of my like. I want to maximize it as best I can, and I’m just going to take it as early as possible. Get rid of that, that initial idea, same thing. If you’re like, I got to wait the longest I can to get the most benefit. You know, the highest monthly paycheck may not be the right answer, either. So let’s just take a step back look at the full picture. That’s really the answer to the question,

Ryan Fleming  10:47

like so many thing other things in retirement, just having the conversation is the key. You know, we just had a conversation, and it probably opened up both of our eyes a little bit to all the factors that are involved in that Social Security Question. And then people know themselves. They know their their situation at some point to where they’re going to be leaning one way or the other. I do 100% because it is complicated. Tell everyone to actually call the Social Security office and talk to somebody, because you have a lot of insights that they have that you might not be thinking about

Walter Storholt  11:19

all good stuff. Well, there you have it. It’s not just about when your parents passed away. It’s not all about your family history as you try to figure out when to claim Social Security and make similar decisions about retirement, it’s about looking at your full financial picture. So take that step back before you move forward with any of these kinds of decisions in your own financial life. I know that’s not the most direct answer our viewer was looking for today, but it is the best one. What’s the next step that you can take? If you have outline questions like this, about retirement, about financial planning, reach out to Ryan. Have a conversation with the pilots advisor about your situation. Map out a plan to get you where you need to be into the future. How do you do that? Well, the first step is to order the retirement toolkit. Ryan’s got that@retirepilots.com you just go there, click the link in the description of today’s show if it’s easier for you, fill out your information and order the toolkit. The toolkit is packed with all sorts of great information about retirement specifically designed to help educate pilots. Again, Ryan is a pilot himself, so always there to help you and guide you through. Knows all the particulars and the specifics about the different airlines and their plans and their portfolios. So it’s great having that inside knowledge also being with you on the financial side. So all you have to do is order that toolkit. You’ll get the books and the resources, and most importantly, you’ll qualify for that free portfolio analysis. That’s where Ryan will look at your specific situation and walk you through the planning process. From there, there’s no cost to get that toolkit and that portfolio analysis. All you have to do is go to the website, retire pilots.com and fill out the information and get started. Ryan, thanks for guiding us through this conversation today, and we’ll look forward to chatting with you

Ryan Fleming  12:55

again next week. Everybody fly safe.

Speaker 1  13:01

Information is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute tax investment or legal advice. Always consult with a qualified investment legal or tax professional before taking any action.