Catherine Siskos – Kiplinger’s Retirement Report

The pandemic that shuttered businesses and left 40 million Americans unemployed also means fewer dollars flowing into Social Security’s coffers. What does the pandemic economy bode for people already collecting benefits or who hope to do so one day?

The good news is that Social Security can pay 100% of benefits for the next dozen or so years and about 75% of benefits thereafter, even if 1 in 5 people are unemployed for the next 24 months, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College.

The bad news is that changes baked into the program are coming home to roost, and the effect is that benefits keep getting stingier. “Once we get through this pandemic, the attention should be on fixing the program,” says CRR’s director Alicia H. Munnell.

Fixing Social Security isn’t insurmountable. Hiking payroll taxes 1.6% for employers and employees would fully fund the program for the next 75 years, according to a CRR report. Social Security is already tapping interest from the program’s trust fund to pay benefits and will begin dipping into fund assets next year, the first time that’s happened since 1982. Left alone, the fund could be depleted by 2033, two years sooner than originally projected because of the pandemic economy.

After that, the program would rely entirely on annual payroll tax revenue. At first, retirees would get 79 cents for every dollar they’d earned in benefits, dropping to 73 cents per dollar by the end of the century. No one, of course, expects that to happen. “Politically, it’s untenable,” says Nancy Altman, president of Social Security Works, a nonprofit advocacy group.

But even if Congress fixes Social Security’s funding, benefits are still shrinking. In fact, they have been for some time because of the rising retirement age. In 1983, Congress gradually raised the full retirement age for people born between 1938 and 1960. Because of the way Social Security’s actuarial formula is calculated, the replacement rate – the amount of money a beneficiary receives compared to preretirement earnings – fell as the retirement age rose, with the steepest cuts hitting those born in 1960 or later.

Social Security’s benefits table bears this out. The full retirement age for someone born in 1937 is 65. A monthly benefit of $1,000 drops to $800 if that individual retires early at 62, which makes sense given that benefits accrue the longer you wait to take them.

But someone born a year later in 1938, who would have received $1,000 at the full retirement age of 65 and two months, gets just $791 per month at age 62. The benefit amount continues to drop with those born in 1960 or later getting just $700 at age 62 of the $1,000 benefit they would have received at the full retirement age of 67. “Raising the retirement age is cutting benefits,” says Munnell. As long as Congress keeps the full retirement age at 67, the replacement rate will level off in 2022 and benefits should stop shrinking.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for their purchasing power, which continues to fall. Social Security’s annual cost of living adjustments can’t keep up with health care costs, which have been rising faster than other goods and services, translating into a 30% loss of buying power for benefits since 2000, according to a Senior Citizens League study. Seniors spend more than twice as much on health care as younger adults.

Benefits are also staying frozen more often. Since COLAs began in 1975, only three years – 2010, 2011 and 2016 – had no increases, but all occurred in the past decade. The pandemic’s weak economy and crashing oil prices mean no COLAs are expected for 2020.

If there’s a bright side, says Kurt Czarnowski of Cznarowski Consulting, a Social Security and retirement planning firm, it’s this: “There’s no provision for taking money away from beneficiaries,” in years when the cost of living doesn’t increase.

Read full article here.

[The COVID-19 pandemic has catapulted all financial services professionals, their vendor partners, and their clients into a new virtual operating environment; one that many were not prepared for or adept in. The need for answers to truly scary questions, evaluating sudden changes to better understand impacts, and determining quickly what best course of actions to take – all needed to be explored and communicated virtually. This became the focus of a new business reality. It also quickly led to the unquestioned realization of the need for rapid learning on how to navigate this new, unprecedented world of volatility, uncertainty, confusion, and ambiguity.

In the middle of all this, it was very heartening to see a number of major digital forums and virtual meetings that were quickly conceived of and implemented to start addressing these massive concerns. Exhibiting leadership in the middle of crisis demonstrates courage, especially as definitive answers were hard to come by.  But, it was also very practical as it pushed them to learn by doing, sharing ideas, and engaging in meaningful discussions. They began modeling the leadership and positive actions needed for this new landscape — build stronger strategic partnerships, offer many varied perspectives, and learn together with your audience.

With this article, the Institute is starting a new series on Virtual Engagement Leaders and review some recent virtual events as case studies to examine and learn from their experiences. One such event that bears review was the May 6th Virtual Advisor Summit put together by Jeremiah Demarais, CEO of Advisorist and Kevin Darlington, general manager of Broadridge Advisor Solutions. Their event was singular in the size and scope of their virtual offering.

Over the course of one day, they provided six live presentations from industry leaders and 15 on-demand sessions to choose from by a broad range of specialists from marketing, social media consulting, growth hacking, practice management, retirement planning, organizational psychology, and successful advisors with unique growth strategies.

Presenters included co-producers Desmarais and Darlington, Ed Slott (Ed Slott & Co), Michael Kitces (Kitces.com), Brad Swineheart (White Glove), Luke Acree (ReminderMedia), Duncan Macpherson (Pareto), Tom Hegna (economist, best-selling author), Frank Maselli (best-selling author), Dan Collison (Advice2Advisor), and Marc Kiner (Premier Social Security Consulting LLC).

Topics covered an extensive arsenal of specific skills and tools for the current environment including selling in the era of social distancing; new advanced retirement/tax updates; virtual presentation strategies; virtual marketing strategies; virtual communication techniques; social marketing frameworks; niche marketing to women; virtual seminar best practices; world class e-learning; secrets to blog and podcasting success; situational social security; and marketing master strategies.

The event was free to live participants but also provided the ability to pay for ongoing VIP access and download (which is still available) to all speaker presentations and tools across this wide range of topics. The response they received demonstrated the need for this kind of information, guidance, and outreach of support as the co-sponsors reported over 6,110 advisors registered for the Virtual Summit representing $194.8 Billion in AUM.

I reached out to Jeremiah Desmarias to ask about the mechanics of how they developed and implemented such a large engagement event for and with such a cross section of advisors and industry leaders. I particularly asked them to share their experiences and lessons learned in order to encourage and help advisors and other industry leaders on developing their virtual skills and create their own virtual engagement strategies for their clients and community.]

Bill Hortz: What were the main steps and time frame you took from idea to launch for your Virtual Summit?

Jeremiah Desmarais: The Summit was designed to share best practices and lessons in the field of virtual financial advising. From team assembly to go-live was five weeks. FIVE. It was mammoth, but we knew we needed to get to our audience ASAP with some time-sensitive content.

Picture project management along two separate but parallel tracks. Track one was on the human logistics — the planning you would see for an in-person two-day event, vetting speakers, staging promotions, and driving excitement.

At the same time, we had to move FAST. So, track two was focused on the tech logistics which we ran like a bullet train. All turnaround times were checked and then compressed from days to hours. One part of the team worked on track one with a few days lead time, setting the framework. Another part of the team then sprinted from one task to the next to execute the plan.

We kept our teams fluid to keep bottlenecks out – one person may be assigned to different points on both tracks. If you want to pull something like this off and have it be amazing, you need to be creative and adaptive. Basically, this was the same message we conveyed to attendees who needed to learn themselves how to pivot with little warning!

Hortz: How did you bring in so many industry leaders and solutions providers so quickly?

Desmarais: We placed feelers around to a number of people we worked with previously where we knew they would be high energy, positive, and bring value. We wanted expertise and energy to sustain such a long day. We asked people from our carefully vetted list hoping for five live and 10 on demand. You know what happened? Twenty-six said yes!

Our speakers started talking it up in their own circles and networks, they were that excited. We had to cut it off after a point to ensure all would bring unique insight to the advisors and there was no duplication in content. We were able to sequence speakers for the live event for the best flow and provide an unbelievable depth and breadth of experience specifically for the industry in the on-demand content for the Summit.

Hortz: What were the key dynamics of making this event happen?

Desmarais: Like we said earlier, you have to remain fluid. We had changes in technology needs, marketing channel algorithms, and a constant need for redundancy in talent. Normally, you do that to speed up a delivery date. In this case, yes, it helped us stretch the workday, but the reality also was that team backup availability was critical in case anyone became ill themselves or needed time off to take care of someone. So, we ran separate teams at Broadridge and at Advisorist — and while each had a point person – we also had pivot options for development, webinar tech, and speaker management.

Hortz: What were the major obstacles and how did you solve for them?

Desmarais: Time was not on our side. Five weeks to host a successful, meaningful, and well-attended event is a blip on the calendar. Key obstacles included:

Platform selection: There were several systems out there we looked at: One had several audio issues when tested so we eliminated them. Another has long been a gold standard we have used for many years but, we felt, did not carry the same ‘intimate feel’ that Zoom does. Ultimately, we feel like we took a bet on Zoom because we had never tested it with large groups of 500+ or more.

Platform stability: We knew systems were secure and messaging would be travelling through the firewall left and right, but the speed and volume could stress any system. For each registration promo we ran, we knew our speakers were running promos as well to spread the word. That causes exponential exposure but can create shakiness in systems if not well planned.

Bandwidth: This may sound redundant to the last point, but we literally meant the day-of bandwidth. With so many working from home, internet speeds can be strained. Now, we were going to have thousands connecting for 10 hours, into a single Zoom webinar.

We rehearsed, set up redundant technology in advance to roll over if needed, and set up communication channels outside of the room for updates and emergencies. We were in parallel on a YouTube stream in case users had lost Zoom access when underway.

We also asked everyone to send us “good virtual meeting” vibes so it would come off with minimal issues! And then, we also prayed a bit.

Hortz: Any last thoughts about what you learned through this event and wanted to share with financial professionals?

Desmarais: The response we received to our event reinforced that the financial services industry is at a unique inflection point. We were overwhelmed with over 6,000 registrations. We were amazed how many attended live and stayed through the full event. Feedback was unreal it was so good.

All of these are indicators that financial professionals recognize the need to adjust on how they conduct business with their clients and that they are really uncertain how to do it well. Based on the feedback, it is not just a passing lock-down fad.

We also learned that we all need to be as open to opportunities, embracing all the expertise there is out there in the industry, and start implementing the latest technologies and solutions as we transition from physical to a virtual advisory role.

We are committed to working with advisors by compiling the best Financial Advisor marketing strategies and best range of marketing expertise available to inform you of the creative options that are available. I would also like to invite you to our free weekly advisor classes every Wednesday, which we call our Virtual Advisor Power Hour, taught by experts on successful front-line marketing experiments working in today’s pandemic environment.

Each advisor will move through the year and into the next a little differently than the advisor next to them, and that is fine. Whether fully virtual or a hybrid, assemble the best team for you, and the best tools for your practice so you are focused and passionate about your practice’s future.

The Institute for Innovation Development is an educational and business development catalyst for growth-oriented financial advisors and financial services firms determined to lead their businesses in an operating environment of accelerating business and cultural change. We position our members with the necessary ongoing innovation resources and best practices to drive and facilitate their next-generation growth, differentiation and unique community engagement strategies. The institute was launched with the support and foresight of our founding sponsors – Perishing, Voya Financial, Ultimus Fund Solutions, Fidelity, and Charter Financial Publishing (publisher of Financial Advisor magazine). For more information, click here.

Cincinnati Enquirer – 06/20/2020

Premier Social Security Consulting of Cincinnati, which teaches the National Social Security Advisor (NSSA) program to professional advisors, will offer online instruction only during the coronavirus outbreak.

“Social Security offices nationwide have closed due to the pandemic, which makes the need for qualified advisors who know the Social Security program more valuable than ever,” said Marc Kiner of Blue Ash, partner at Premier. “We’ll resume live classes later in 2020, but for now will offer only live webinars and taped, on-demand videos. The education is the same, regardless of educational format.”

Kiner said he and Premier partner Jim Blair of Ross recognize online learning is the right solution for them and clients who interact with the elderly or people with compromised immune systems. Live teaching will resume when social distancing measures are lifted.

“We pay attention to the coronavirus situation, just as we pay attention to the details of the Social Security retirement program,” said Kiner. “Understanding Social Security is especially important for advisors in order for them to understand client issues and questions, as well as help maximize Social Security income. A little work now will help advisors come out of the pandemic sprinting, not walking.”

There are 76 million baby boomers in the U.S. today, and each day 10,000 of them turn 65 years old. Full Retirement Age (FRA) for workers to access Social Security income is between 66 and 67 years old.

“Each client is unique,” said Kiner. “Advisors must understand questions and issues relating to each and every client. Prepare now for the many questions you will receive from clients about Social Security.”

“Whether a person is single, married, divorced, a surviving spouse, has children, or is a public employee should help determine your Social Security strategy,” said Blair. “Smart advisors will get ahead of the Social Security learning curve so they can help clients maximize Social Security income by becoming qualified and competent advisors.”

Ninety percent of American workers do not maximize benefits when claiming Social Security, which can mean leaving up to $200,000 on the table during retirements that can last 20 years or longer.

NSSA Certificate Program tuition is $685 and includes education, the certificate in all instances after passing the assessment, and Premier’s Gold Standard of Support. Support includes monthly webinars with personal counsel on Social Security questions from Kiner and Blair.

“We understand that this is a difficult time, as many advisors have experienced a reduction in revenues and profits,” said Blair. “But this is also a great time for advisors to learn about Social Security in anticipation of the economy opening up later in 2020.”

Premier offers two incentives to advisors due to the coronavirus, said Kiner: a $50 discount by using discount code “covid19” and a payment plan (discount code: paymentplan) that allows for a payment of 25 percent at registration, with 75 percent payment in six months.

For information, call (513) 218-8505 or e-mail mkiner@mypremierplan.com. Visit www.premiernssa.com to register.

Melinda Zemper, Oak Tree Communications

Professional advisors attend an NSSA Social Security education certification course. (Oak Tree Communications Photo)

We understand that this is a difficult time, as many advisors have experienced a reduction in revenues and profits… But this is also a great time for advisors to learn about Social Security in anticipation of the economy opening up later in 2020.

CINCINNATI (PRWEB) JUNE 10, 2020

Premier Social Security Consulting of Cincinnati, which teaches the National Social Security Advisor (NSSA) program to professional advisors nationwide, will offer online instruction only during the coronavirus outbreak. “Social Security offices nationwide have closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which makes the need for qualified advisors who know the Social Security program more valuable than ever,” said Marc Kiner, partner at Premier. “We hope to resume our live NSSA classes later in 2020, but in the meantime, we’re offering only live webinars and taped, on-demand videos. The education is the same, regardless of educational format.”

Kiner said he and Premier partner Jim Blair enjoy teaching the National Social Security Advisor (NSSA) program in person because a live classroom setting is socially interactive and builds relationships. Still, they recognize that to help flatten the COVID-19 transmission curve, online learning is the right course for them and clients who may have connections to the elderly or those with compromised immune systems.

“We pay attention to the details of the coronavirus situation, just as we pay attention to the details of the Social Security retirement program,” said Kiner. “Understanding Social Security is especially important for advisors in order for them to understand client issues and questions, as well as to help clients maximize Social Security income. Dedicate yourself now to learning about Social Security so you can ask clients to call you with their questions and help them with their Social Security strategies. A little work now will help advisors come out of the pandemic sprinting, not walking.”

There are 76 million baby boomers in the U.S. today, and each day 10,000 of them turn 65 years old. The Full Retirement Age (FRA) for workers to access Social Security income is between 66 and 67 years old.

“Each client is unique,” said Kiner. “Advisors must understand the questions and issues related to each and every client. Don’t wait until the economy recovers and you are super busy. Prepare now for the many questions you will receive from clients about Social Security.”

Kiner, a 35-year public accountant and entrepreneur who sold his accounting firm to form Premier, and business partner Blair, a 35-year employee of the Social Security Administration and a former SSA office manager, coined the phrase “Situational Social Security” because each worker in the U.S. has a unique Social Security situation.

“Whether a person is single, married, divorced, a surviving spouse, has children, or is a public employee should help dictate your Social Security strategy,” said Blair. “Workers born before June 1, 1954 are in a slightly different category than younger workers with an FRA of between 66 and 67 years old. Smart advisors will get ahead of the Social Security learning curve so they can help clients maximize Social Security income by becoming qualified and competent advisors.”

Ninety percent of American workers do not maximize benefits when claiming Social Security, which can mean leaving up to $200,000 on the table during retirements that can last 20 years or longer.

“That’s a big chunk of money that could provide for long-term, health care expenses for yourself or loved one as you age,” said Blair.

The NSSA curriculum covers Social Security from A to Z and emphasizes Situational Social Security. At the end of the class, advisors will understand the issues and questions related to each of their clients, said Kiner.

NSSA certification program accreditation is provided by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) in Washington, D.C. Tuition for the NSSA Certificate Program is $695 and includes the education, certificate in all instances after passing the assessment, and Gold Standard of Support. Support includes monthly webinars with personal counsel on Social Security questions from Kiner and Blair.

“We understand that this is a difficult time, as many advisors have experienced a reduction in revenues and profits,” said Blair. “But this is also a great time for advisors to learn about Social Security in anticipation of the economy opening up later in 2020.”

“We’re offering two incentives to advisors due to the difficult times we have encountered,” said Kiner. “We have a $50 discount by using discount code “covid19” and a payment plan (discount code: paymentplan) that allows for a payment of 25 percent at registration and 75 percent payment in six months.”

For more information about the NSSA program, contact Kiner at (513) 218-8505 or by e-mail at mkiner@mypremierplan.com. Visit http://www.premiernssa.com to register.

Contact: Marc Kiner
Email: mkiner@mypremierplan.com
Phone: (513) 247-0526

About Premier Social Security Consulting:
Premier Social Security Consulting, LLC of Cincinnati educates professional advisors nationwide on the national Social Security program so they can counsel their clients on how to maximize Social Security income. Premier partners Marc Kiner and Jim Blair teach the NSSA certificate program.

About the National Social Security Advisor program:
Marc Kiner and Jim Blair are partners at Premier Social Security Consulting of Cincinnati, which teaches the National Social Security Advisor (NSSA) certificate program. NSSA is the nation’s only accredited Social Security education certificate program.

How much do you know about the Social Security Retirement program? Are you able to help your clients to understand and maximize the SS benefits? Do you shy away from helping clients with their SS strategies? Do you tell your clients to call SSA with questions?

Understanding Social Security is very important for advisors working with the 76 million baby boomers. Advisors must understand Situational Social Security. Every client will be in a unique Social Security situation:

• Single
• Married
• Surviving Spouse
• Divorced
• Children
• Public Employees
• Clients born by 1/1/1954
• Full Retirement Age range between 66-67

Every client is unique. Advisors must understand the questions and issues relating to each and every client. Advisors should take this time to learn about Social Security, thereby increasing value to clients. Don’t wait until the economy recovers and you are super busy. Prepare yourself now for the many questions you will receive from clients about Social Security.

Our education covers Social Security from A-Z and emphasizes Situational Social Security. At the end of our class you will understand the issues and questions relating to each of your clients. We offer our education in three formats – live classroom, live webinar and taped ondemand. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we have cancelled the live classroom format for the immediate future. We hope to resume our live classes later in 2020. Thus, we are concentrating our live webinars and taped ondemand videos. The education is the same regardless of educational format.

Tuition for the National Social Security Advisor Certificate Program is $695 and includes the education, certificate after passing the assessment and Gold Standard of Support. Support includes questions and monthly webinars. We are offering two incentives to advisors due to the difficult times we have encountered:

1. $50 discount by using discount code “covid19”
2. Payment plan (discount code is “paymentplan”)
   1. 25% at registration
   2. 75% in 6 months

We understand that this is a difficult time as many advisors have experienced a reduction in revenues and profits. This is also a great time for advisors to learn about Social Security in anticipating of the economy opening up later in 2020. Advisors should take the time now to learn about a topic that 76 million baby boomers have a vested interested to consult with a qualified and competent advisor.

Take the time to learn about Situation Social Security so you can help clients and prospects and come out of the pandemic running (sprinting), not walking.

Also, with the closure of the Social Security offices across the country, advisors have a need to seek our qualified advisors. Impress your prospects and clients with your vast understanding of Social Security. Your prospects and clients will be greatly impressed.

Take advantage of the $50 immediate discount or the payment plan. Contact Marc Kiner at 513-218-8505 or by e-mail at mkiner@mypremierplan.com with any questions. Visit www.premiernssa.com to register.

Orlando, Florida, October 22, 2019 – The Wealth Engineering Institute is pleased to announce its selection of Premier Social Security Consulting as the exclusive provider of Social Security consulting and educational services for it’s network of over 2,100 wealth management firms.

“We are excited to add Premier to our Expert Sourcing Team,” said WEI CEO and Managing Partner, Nick Gregory, ChWE, CEBA, ChFWA. “Social Security Consulting and Education are extremely important for advisors serving the needs of 76+ million baby boomers. Social Security “knowledge” is a necessity when it comes to comprehensive financial management. Premier Social Security Consulting’s national presence and expertise in this market make them a natural fit for our team.” Premier Social Security Consulting also offers advisors the ability to earn the National Social Security Advisor Certificate. To date, over 2,000 certificates have been awarded to advisors nationwide.

Premier’s president, Marc Kiner, added, “Our mission, pure and simple, is to help folks across the country maximize their Social Security benefits by educating their financial advisors. We are honored to join the WEI Expert Sourcing Team.”

With this announcement, Premier Social Security Consulting joins an arsenal of best-of-breed expert sourcing firms that provide a vast array of services to WEI’s network of wealth management firms, accounting firms, investment and insurance advisors and attorneys across the nation. The result is the fusion of advanced knowledge, experience, services, and products with sound engineering principles to create a synchronized hub for family and business wealth building.

Premier Social Security Consulting LLC is the leader in Social Security consulting and education. To date, more than 5,000 advisors have attended Premier’s Social Security education programs nationwide. Every client has a unique Social Security situation. Therefore, our education platform focuses on Situational Social Security Planning. Advisors attend the training and also receive support thru one-ono-one advice and monthly webinars. Advisors learn the ins and outs of Social Security; increasing their value to clients. Owners, Mr. Kiner and Mr. Blair also created the National Social Security Advisor Certificate program. This educational program received accreditation by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence and is the only accredited educational program in the nation. For additional information relating to our suite of services visit www.premiersocialsecurityconsulting.com and for information relating to the National Social Security Advisor Certificate program visit www.premiernssa.com.

Headquartered in Orlando, FL, the Wealth Engineering Institute (WEI) serves over 2,200 wealth management firms, investment and insurance advisor, CPAs and attorneys across the nation. WEI helps these professionals harmonize the complex wealth of families and businesses through the organization’s Wealth Engineering Process. WEI is also the governing body and grantor of the Chartered Wealth Engineer (ChFE) professional designation. For more information about The Wealth Engineering Institute, visit thefei.com or call 407.878.3520.

Jim Blair was recently asked to help answer a reader’s question for InvestmentNews.com. The reader’s client had a difficult and nuanced case regarding their divorce and how that should affect their Social Security strategy moving forward. While the situation may seem straightforward, there are some exceptions that would allow them to take better advantage of their benefits. Read Jim’s response here.

Premier Social Security Consulting of Cincinnati has added two Social Security tools to its technology toolkit.

Premier has purchased Social Security Help Centers™, an internet-based, lead generation tool for professional advisors, and has announced a strategic partnership with Social Security Pro, a Social Security benefits calculation tool.

“Professional advisors often need more than just Social Security education,” said Marc Kiner, partner at Premier Social Security Consulting. “They need tools to help them to accurately calculate Social Security benefits for their clients, as well as to grow their businesses.

“We’ve found that many of the professional advisors we work with are basing their practices on baby boomers. The Social Security topic has become an increasingly important one for all retirees and has become an excellent lead generation tool.”

A married couple can leave as much as $150,000 on the table in lifetime Social Security income by not accessing the program correctly based on their ages, health and life expectancy and not coordinating spousal benefits, said Kiner. Retirements today can last up to 30 years.

Premier educates professional advisors on the Social Security program through National Social Security Advisor (NSSA®), the nation’s only accredited Social Security education certificate program. Premier’s organizational goal is to help professional advisors nationwide learn the Social Security program so they can in turn help clients maximize Social Security income.

For a one-time subscription fee of $495, with a $99 annual fee after the first year, professional advisors can install the Social Security Help Centers’ landing page on their websites and customize it with their business information. A free e-book titled, Your Personal Financial Help Center by Bruce Sankin, president of Financial Help Centers of Pompano Beach, Fla., is embedded into the landing page.

Sankin is an entrepreneur who has developed a lead-generating and branding marketing system for insurance and financial professionals.

The e-book includes information on how to maximize Social Security benefits; choosing the right annuity for retirement; protecting your money with long-term care insurance; protecting yourself against identity theft; and what to look for in a life insurance policy.

“With the contact information provided to receive the e-book, each of the website visitors can then be contacted by the professional advisor in order to determine whether he or she can be converted into a client,” said Kiner.

The Social Security Help Centers’ landing page is available to any professional advisor who wants to grow his or her business, said Jim Blair, a 35-year veteran of the Social Security Administration and partner in Premier Social Security Consulting.

“You don’t need to be an NSSA certified advisor to subscribe to the Social Security Help Centers service,” said Blair. “The e-book is meant to begin a client discussion for both pre- and post-retirees on working effectively toward retirement and maximizing Social Security benefits.”

Premier has also partnered with Impact Technologies Group of Charlotte, North Carolina, to recommend its Social Security Pro software benefits calculator. The extensively-researched and patented Social Security Pro software program is a web-based tool that can run clients’ Social Security calculations for them, added Kiner.

Advisors click or touch on a ‘start age’ button on an interactive grid and use a slider to change assumptions. As assumptions are made, hundreds of calculations take into account thousands of Social Security rules to compare options, suggest the best filing strategy and show the lifetime benefits difference between options, according to the Social Security Pro website.

“What I like about the software is its user simplicity,” said Kiner. “Professional advisors can now interview a client, enter his or her age data into the Social Security Pro calculator program, and generate a graphically-attractive report to discuss with the client in order to help maximize their Social Security benefits. Clients will be able to see for themselves how their choices may affect their lifetime benefits.”

Social Security has increasingly become important for retirees so they don’t outlive their money. About 75 million Americans today are classified as baby boomers.

The National Social Security Advisor certificate is awarded to professional advisors who take the NSSA course and pass an assessment.

NSSA accreditation is provided by the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE) in Washington, D.C. The National Social Security Association has certified more than 1,900 advisors since the program began in 2013.

For more information about the National Social Security Advisor certificate program, the Social Security Help Centers or the Social Security Pro software, call Kiner at (513) 247-0526.

Visit the NSSA website at www.nationalsocialsecurityassociation.com or the Premier Social Security Consulting site at www.premiernssa.com for information about Premier’s Social Security education program.

78 million Baby Boomers are about to retire – or already did. Premier Social Security Consulting helps navigate the ins and outs of Social Security in this segment of NAIFA’s Planning Your Future program.

About NAIFA
Founded in 1890 as The National Association of Life Underwriters (NALU), NAIFA is the oldest, largest and most prestigious association representing the interests of insurance professionals from every Congressional district in the United States. Our mission – to advocate for a positive legislative and regulatory environment, enhance business and professional skills, and promote the ethical conduct of its members – is the reason NAIFA has consistently and resoundingly stood up for agents and called upon members to grow their knowledge while following the highest ethical standards in the industry. www.NAIFA.org

About ITN Productions
ITN Productions is ITN’s production hub producing creative and commercially valuable content for the corporate, commercial, broadcast, and digital sectors. Industry News forms part of this offering and is a communications tool for leading industry bodies and national associations produced in a broadcast news program format, including interviews, news-style items and sponsored editorial profiles. For more information visit: http://itnproductions.com/industry-news/

About Premier Social Security Consulting
Whether you are reaching the Social Security Full Retirement Age and looking to maximize your Social Security benefits or are a Professional Advisor such as a CPA, Financial Advisor, Lawyer, Tax Professional, Enrolled Agent or Insurance Agent looking to better answer the questions your clients might have about Social Security, Premier Social Security Consulting LLC can help. We provide customized consulting for individuals or couples reaching their Full Retirement Age and can assist in understanding and maximizing their lifetime Social Security benefits. We also provide Social Security education and training for all Professional Advisors looking to better answer the questions their clients are having about Social Security, thereby increasing value to their clients. Interested in learning more?

10,000 Baby Boomers Are Turning Age 65 Every Day!

The demand for professional Social Security advice is at an all-time high. More than 10,000 baby boomers are turning age 65 every day. This is a market that will experience exponential growth through 2025.

As your clients and prospects are reaching full Social Security retirement age, it is critically important that you learn all of the nuances of Social Security program. With NSSA® Training and Certificate, you can guide your clients towards making optimal filing choices that will maximize their Social Security benefits and answer related questions.

Case study analyses and “what if” scenarios will allow you to quantify the value of your services to your clients by optimizing their filings to maximize their projected lifetime Social Security benefits. Medicare will also be covered in training.

NSSA® Certificate will increase your credibility among prospects, clients, and other financial advisors.