Opulence by Choice · Padua Financial Services
Understand your Social Security choices and how they fit into the life you want to live.
02 · The trade-offs
Illustrative comparison, before taxes and Medicare deductions.
Total payments from each starting age until the selected birthday.
A simple comparison of cumulative payments. Health, cash needs, taxes, work and survivor protection also matter. No choice is automatically the best.
Monthly amounts stay constant in the dollar basis you entered. No future COLAs, investment returns, present-value discounting, earnings-test withholding, taxes, Medicare deductions, or spouse/survivor benefits are included. Totals stop just before the chosen birthday. This is not a claiming recommendation or an SSA benefit determination.
Use starting ages that are still available to you. If you have already claimed, need disability or Railroad Retirement benefits, or are considering withdrawal, suspension, retroactive benefits or a survivor-to-retirement switch, request an individual review.
03 · Benefits to explore
These prompts help you prepare for a benefits review. They do not establish eligibility or calculate a household claiming strategy.
04 · Work and benefits
Before full retirement age, earnings may cause SSA to withhold benefits. This separate worksheet uses the published 2026 annual limits.
Enter your figures
Assumes entitlement in every relevant month. First-year monthly rules, special payments, work outside the U.S. and self-employment exceptions need review. Withholding is not a tax; SSA adjusts benefits at full retirement age for months withheld. This amount is not deducted from the comparison above.
Pensions, IRA withdrawals, investment income and military retirement generally do not count for this earnings test.
Read SSA’s work rules05 · The bigger picture
A snapshot after your selected Social Security benefit begins. Put all amounts on a consistent basis before taxes.
Enter your figures to see income alongside spending.
This does not calculate tax, IRMAA, inflation, account growth, or whether withdrawals will last. A combined-income tax review may be needed even when work does not reduce Social Security.
RMDs & the next generation
We help organize your retirement accounts, confirm applicable deadlines with your custodians and coordinate distributions with pensions, Social Security and your tax picture. Review withholding and the effect on income-sensitive costs before making a withdrawal.
Account type, birth year, employment and beneficiary status can change the rules. An RMD itself cannot be rolled over or converted to a Roth IRA.
Request an RMD reviewClarify who should receive your assets, when they should receive them and who should manage funds for a minor. We help review beneficiary designations, life-insurance options, education goals and the questions to take to your estate-planning attorney.
Inherited retirement accounts have their own distribution rules. A grandchild does not automatically qualify for the special exception for an account owner’s minor child. Trust wording and tax treatment need individual review.
Discuss a grandchildren legacy planIRS RMD guidance · IRS beneficiary guidance. We coordinate planning; legal documents require qualified legal counsel.
06 · Keep learning
Check your earnings, work credits and estimates. Confirm your exact benefit-starting month with SSA.
Your SSA accountFiling ages and reductionsAsk Gil about cancer and heart-attack / critical-illness supplement availability. Eligibility, issue ages and state availability vary. Not offered in California.
Medicare enrollment has its own deadlines. Waiting for Social Security does not automatically mean you can wait for Medicare.
Medicare getting startedA plan-specific discussion requires the applicable Scope of Appointment and a professional authorized for your state and coverage.
WEP and GPO no longer apply to benefits payable for January 2024 onward. Ask SSA to confirm your updated benefit if these offsets affected you.
Social Security Fairness ActMilitary TSP resource centerPlanning sources reviewed October 3, 2026. Check official sources for later changes.
Your next step
When you request a callback below, authorize a copy of what you entered so Gil can prepare. Update your calculations first; unfinished sections are labeled in the copy.
Padua Financial Services · Padua Insurance Agency, LLC. Educational estimates only. SSA determines benefit eligibility and payment amounts. No government affiliation or endorsement. Family, survivor, disability and special claiming situations require individual review. Insurance services depend on verified state licensing and carrier appointments.
CALIFORNIA: LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES ONLY. No health insurance, Medicare plans, cancer supplements or heart-attack supplements are offered by Padua in California.