Social Security benefits can be used as protection against the potential cost of long-term care. Photo: iStockphoto/Getty ImagesMany high-net-worth investors ignore one of the most powerful financial-planning tools available to them: Social Security. For example, instead of deferring the benefit, high-net-worth investors could claim Social Security as soon as age 66. There are more than 2,700 rules governing Social Security and the typical couple has over 500 filing options. As an inflation-protected, guaranteed lifetime income stream, Social Security shouldn’t be an afterthought but rather a building block of any individual’s retirement plan.

Source: Wall Street Journal March 27, 2017 02:41 UTC