“Is your retirement plan based on Social Security fact or fiction?” a Kiplinger article asks, citing statistics showing that, while 9 in 10 Americans over age 65 receive Social Security benefits, few understand how to claim those benefits most effectively. As just one example, a 2025 annual study found that 55% of Americans believe that the age for receiving full benefits is 65.
As elder law and estate planning advisors in Indiana, at Geyer Law, we agree with the author of this article that “the timing of the decision to start taking Social Security benefits is highly personal, and important factors such as financial assets, life expectancy, and marital status must be considered”. Personal health conditions, and major health concerns with any immediate family members should also be considered.
Many clients, we’ve found, are totally unaware of the tax planning issues relating to their Social Security benefits. Kiplinger discusses IRMAA, an income-related monthly adjustment amount, which is a surcharge on Medicare when taxable income exceeds certain thresholds, potentially increasing costs by 3-9% annually.
Tax planning significantly influences both retirement and estate planning. “Understanding how different assets are taxed upon inheritance can guide you in deciding which assets to convert, gift, or leave as donations,” Milestone Financial Planning points out. “Tax planning for retirement involves strategically managing income, deductions, and credits,” adds True Tamplin of Financestrategiegists.com
While, at Geyer Law, we offer no tax advice, instead working in cooperation with our clients’ tax advisors, many estate planning and tax planning decisions are interwoven. As just one example, if your assets include IRAs and also real estate and other assets held outside the IRA, it can make sense to name a charity as beneficiary of the IRA accounts, with the “nonqualified” assets going to your heirs in your estate planning. The charities pay no income tax, leaving the children assets which are not subject to tax unless there is a gain on the sale of investments or real estate between your date of death and the time the asset is sold.
Similarly, in making decisions concerning the timing of claiming Social Security benefits, it makes sense for you to have us, as your Indiana estate planning advisors, meet with your tax advisor.
– by Rebecca W. Geyer
