When it comes to Social Security and Medicare; the majority of people that attend our workshops tend to think that most financial advisors are subject matter specialists.  In the years that we have been working with financial advisors I can count on one hand the number of advisors that are up-to-date on both; Social Security and Medicare.  To most clients, this is fairly counterintuitive as Social Security is America's retirement program and Medicare is America's health care program for retirees.

There are 5 key reasons why advisors are not specialists on these two cornerstone retiree issues: 

1. A Social Security analysis does not pay very well.
2. There is not a product to be sold, or a service to be offered if you don't charge a fee for service.
3. Most advisors don't invest in the software needed to be able to accurately explain what social security looks like integrated into a retirement plan.
4. Medicare plans change A LOT and vary geographically.
5. There are rules in place to protect seniors that put a wall up between advice that can be given on Medicare and advice that is more retirement in nature.

Any way you slice it, most financial advisors are not up to date on these two backbone American retiree programs. The important thing is that you pick the correct Social Security claiming strategy and Medicare coverage for your personal situation.

I cannot speak for other advisors, but at Excelsior Wealth Partners, we recognize the need to be able to answer all of our client’s retirement questions. We have invested in software and have consultants that specialize in Medicare, that allow us to complete the retiree experience for our clients. We also offer many workshops/seminars in the marketplace where you can attend, or we also offer free consultations.

Head over to our events tab to see our upcoming workshops/seminars to see what locations are nearest to you. If you are unable to attend a workshop/seminar, contact us for a free one-on-one consultation where we can do it face-to-face, over the phone, via e-mail, whatever works best for you!

Representatives may not be registered to provide securities and advisory services in all states.