{"id":74970,"date":"2025-07-19T09:02:16","date_gmt":"2025-07-19T09:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/74970\/"},"modified":"2025-07-19T09:02:16","modified_gmt":"2025-07-19T09:02:16","slug":"worried-about-social-security-in-2025-a-pro-financial-planner-shares-key-things-to-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/74970\/","title":{"rendered":"Worried About Social Security in 2025? A Pro Financial Planner Shares Key Things To Know"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Many Americans are feeling uneasy about the future of Social Security<\/a>.\u00a0While the average monthly Social Security benefit is now over $2,000, some experts also predict that the Social Security trust fund will deplete its reserves within the decade.<\/p>\n

In an episode<\/a> of the \u201cFuture Rich\u201d podcast, Barbara Ginty, CFP, reassured listeners that while Social Security isn\u2019t going away, it does face pressures that require thoughtful planning.<\/p>\n

Read Next: How Much the Average Upper Class Retiree Claims in Social Security Benefits at Age 65<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Learn More: 7 Luxury SUVs That Will Become Affordable in 2025<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are some things you should know, as well as seven things to do if you\u2019re worried about Social Security<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Ginty said to qualify for Social Security, workers need at least 40 work credits<\/a>, which amounts to roughly 10 years of employment.<\/p>\n

Without meeting this minimum, they are not eligible for retirement benefits. Reviewing one\u2019s earnings record<\/a> on the Social Security website regularly helps to ensure that reported income is accurate and that no credits are missing.<\/p>\n

Find Out: How Far $750K Plus Social Security Goes in Retirement in Every US Region<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Social Security calculates retirement benefits based on a person\u2019s highest 35 years of earnings.<\/p>\n

Years with no reported income, such as time spent in school, caregiving or unemployment, can reduce the monthly benefit unless replaced by higher-earning years later.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose zero years will fall off,\u201d Ginty said. \u201cThey\u2019re going to take the highest of your 35 years of earnings in which you paid into Social Security.\u201d<\/p>\n

Social Security offers more than just retirement benefits<\/a>. Spouses, former spouses, widows, widowers, surviving ex-spouses, minor children of deceased workers and people with disabilities may all be eligible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a few different ways you can collect on Social Security, and that\u2019s where this can get a bit confusing,\u201d Ginty said.<\/p>\n

Understanding these different claiming options is key to maximizing lifetime benefits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is a lot more important as a household to consider what the benefits look like and how you\u2019re going to collect. Versus a single individual, where you have only one benefit available, as a household, there\u2019s two benefits,\u201d Ginty said.<\/p>\n

Workers who are paid in cash or \u201coff the books\u201d and do not report their income will not accumulate Social Security credits.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t plan accordingly, you could miss out on, or you most likely will miss out on, your Social Security,\u201d Ginty said. \u201cYou could also miss out on Medicare, so you want to make sure you are on the books.\u201d<\/p>\n

Story continues <\/p>\n

Ginty said that failing to contribute to the system could result in being ineligible for future benefits, including retirement, disability and survivor payments.<\/p>\n

Social Security is a \u201cpay-as-you-go\u201d program funded through payroll taxes. This means today\u2019s benefits are largely funded through payroll taxes<\/a> collected from today\u2019s workers.<\/p>\n

Employees contribute 6.2% of their wages toward Social Security and 1.45% toward Medicare, with employers matching both amounts.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow, if you\u2019re self-employed, you are responsible for the full 15.3%,\u201d Ginty said. \u201cYou need to be covering both sides of that, meaning \u2026 if you are self-employed, you\u2019re the employee and you\u2019re the employer. So you have to do both sides of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Claiming Social Security<\/a> as soon as benefits become available may not always be the best decision.<\/p>\n

Ginty said having a collection strategy, particularly for married couples, helps maximize total benefits over two lifetimes and secure greater financial stability in retirement.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do believe it is important to consider a strategy with Social Security, not to just collect as soon as you\u2019re eligible, but to think about why you\u2019re collecting and how you\u2019re collecting, and how it will affect yourself and or your household,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

Social Security was never intended to serve as a retiree\u2019s sole source of income<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was intended to be a supplement for retirees,\u201d Ginty said. \u201cIt \u2026 has never been meant to be your sole source of income. Sadly, for some retirees today, it is the single largest source of income.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ginty said that individuals aim to save at least 15% of their income for retirement to supplement their Social Security benefits, especially given rising life expectancies and the program\u2019s future uncertainty.<\/p>\n

\u201cI like to see your own savings being greater than what is being mandated by the government,\u201d Ginty said. \u201cRemember, it is meant to be a supplement to your retirement. You don\u2019t want it to be your single largest source of income in retirement. That\u2019s just not as comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

More From GOBankingRates<\/strong><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>: Worried About Social Security in 2025? A Pro Financial Planner Shares Key Things To Know<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Many Americans are feeling uneasy about the future of Social Security.\u00a0While the average monthly Social Security benefit is…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":74971,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[52198,64,255,17702,711,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-74970","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-personal-finance","8":"tag-barbara-ginty","9":"tag-business","10":"tag-personal-finance","11":"tag-retirement-benefits","12":"tag-social-security","13":"tag-united-states","14":"tag-unitedstates","15":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/114879092867755977","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74970","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74970"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74970\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74970"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74970"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74970"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}