Nearly Three-Quarters of Current Recipients Are Collecting Reduced Benefits

WASHINGTON, D.C. - As part of National Retirement Planning Week^®, the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) today featured a webinar for financial advisors to help their clients maximize Social Security benefits as part of a winning retirement strategy. By collecting benefits before their normal retirement age, nearly three-quarters of all current Social Security recipients are receiving reduced benefits and limiting their retirement security.

"Deciding when to begin collecting Social Security benefits needs to be considered within the framework of a holistic retirement strategy," said IRI President and CEO Cathy Weatherford. "As the retirement paradigm continues to shift and as workers bear more responsibility for their overall retirement protection, the decision of when to collect benefits assumes an even higher level of importance. By working with a financial professional, Boomers can consider all the factors and prudently decide how to maximize their retirement security."

Those collecting Social Security at age 62 will reduce their benefits by 20 to 30 percent depending on their normal retirement age, which could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars in lifetime payouts, according to BlackRock Director of Investment and Retirement Education Chad Terry, who led the webinar. For this reason, he said that it is critical for clients to learn about timing issues and understand all their options. Terry said that clients, when evaluating when to collect Social Security, should assess their retirement income sources, health condition, longevity expectations, and plans for future employment. Spousal considerations also must be weighed.

Considering spousal benefits is of particular importance for women, who are more likely to take time out of the workforce and tend to have lower career-long earnings. This reduces their Social Security benefit levels. As a result, and as women tend to live longer and outlive their spouses-they often collect survivor benefits based on their husbands' benefit levels. Statistically women are more dependent on Social Security, particularly at advanced ages, and thus the age at which their spouses collect Social Security benefits significantly affects their own retirement protection.

For the complete webinar, click HERE.

About the Insured Retirement Institute: The Insured Retirement Institute (IRI) is a not-for-profit organization that for twenty years has been a mainstay of service, commitment and collaboration within the insured retirement industry.  Today, IRI is considered to be the authoritative source of all things pertaining to annuities, insured retirement strategies and retirement planning. IRI proudly leads a national consumer education coalition of nearly twenty organizations and is the only association that represents the entire supply chain of insured retirement strategies: our members are the major insurers, asset managers, broker dealers and more than 150,000 financial professionals. IRI exists to vigorously promote consumer confidence in the value and viability of insured retirement strategies, bringing together the interests of the industry, financial advisors and consumers under one umbrella. IRI's mission is to: encourage industry adherence to highest ethical principles; promote better understanding of the insured retirement value proposition; develop and promote best practice standards to improve value delivery; and to advocate before public policy makers on critical issues affecting insured retirement strategies and the consumers that rely on their guarantees. Visit www.IRIonline.org today to experience the vast resources of the Insured Retirement Institute for yourself.     

About National Retirement Planning Week^® 2012: National Retirement Planning Week^® 2012 will take place from April 9 to 13. Held during financial literacy month, National Retirement Planning Week^® is led by the National Retirement Planning Coalition-a group of prominent financial industry, education and advocacy organizations that have joined together to increase awareness of the need for comprehensive retirement planning.

About the National Retirement Planning Coalition: The National Retirement Planning Coalition recognizes that the need to educate Americans on retirement planning is an ongoing effort and is committed to making retirement planning education a national priority. The National Retirement Planning Week^® and other coalition activities will demonstrate that it is possible to "Retire On Your Terms" if comprehensive retirement plans are properly developed and managed. To support these education efforts, the coalition maintains a year-round website-www.retireonyourterms.org-offering the latest resources to both consumers and financial professionals to help them stay focused on long-term financial goals. Throughout the week, additional materials will be made available at: www.retireonyourterms.org.

The coalition is headed by the IRI, and includes America Saves, American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), American Savings Education Council (ASEC), Americans for Secure Retirement (ASR), Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, Defined Contribution Institutional Investment Association (DCIIA), Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), Financial Services Institute (FSI), Financial Services Roundtable (FSR), Jump$tart Coalition, National Association for Fixed Annuities (NAFA), NICSA, Retirement Income Industry Association (RIIA), The American College, The Aspen Institute, and the Women's Institute for a Secure Retirement.

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