Your financial advisor may not provide the best Social Security claiming advice.

• When to claim Social Security is one of the biggest decisions retirees face.
• But financial advisors' guidance may be biased, recent research finds.

Numerous individuals assert that they receive Social Security retirement benefits as soon as they become eligible at age 62.

Their monthly benefits will be reduced for the rest of their lives due to their decision.

Recent research suggests that working with a financial advisor does not necessarily motivate individuals to delay their Social Security benefit claims.

The research, authored by David Blanchett and Jason Fichtner, found that the timing of claiming benefits varied based on the type of advisor used. Higher wealth households tended to delay claiming benefits by two years when working with hourly paid financial professionals, such as accountants, compared to households that worked with commission-based advisors or brokers.

Financial professionals, particularly brokers, are more likely to persuade affluent households to claim Social Security earlier, according to research.

The study found that delaying Social Security claims could harm advisors by reducing the assets they can manage and making retirement planning more complicated.

Financial advisors may prioritize strategies that benefit their compensation over those that are optimal for their clients, according to research by Blanchett and Fichtner.

Joe Elsasser, a certified financial planner and president of Covisum, stated that the research results were "really disappointing."

Elsasser stated that she would have preferred to see a general trend in advisor ages across all advisors.

Why it pays to wait to claim Social Security

If Social Security retirement beneficiaries choose to claim their benefits at age 62, their payments will be permanently reduced.

If they wait until their full Social Security claiming age, they may receive 100% of the benefits they've earned.

The retirement age for Social Security is increasing to 67, which means that benefits available at age 62 will be even more reduced.

Retirees who wait until age 70 can receive a monthly benefit that is 77% higher than what beneficiaries may receive at 62, according to research.

"Delayed claiming isn't a free meal," the research suggests.

Rewritten sentence: To achieve a higher claiming age, one may need to consider alternative investments and work longer.

The research notes that no annuities on the market offer the same inflation-linked benefits as delaying Social Security benefits.

According to research, those who delay retirement tend to have more financial assets and retire later.

Blanchett stated that many Americans lack the ability to choose when to claim.

The odds are that if you're not sick and have money saved for retirement, you should delay retirement until at least 65, 67, or 70, according to him.

How to know if you're getting good claiming advice

Not all financial advisors will possess the same expertise in Social Security claiming, which involves a complex set of rules.

Experts suggest that there are indicators that prospective claimants can observe to evaluate the quality of the advice they are receiving.

If a consumer receives either a recommendation or an acceptance of an early claim, they must evaluate the advisor's advice.

Evaluate the financial professional's process that led them to that conclusion, he said. It's often due to assumptions about longevity that are too short or the belief that early claimed Social Security benefit income can be invested.

Using the free online tool Actuaries Longevity Illustrator, consumers can estimate longevity, according to Elsasser. Additionally, investment returns should be compared to Social Security using more conservative holdings like government bonds instead of stocks, he advised.

Advice about 401(k) rollovers is set to undergo a significant transformation.

The decision to claim Social Security benefits is a personal one, according to Fichtner, who was previously the acting deputy commissioner at the agency.

Your health status, other sources of income, and how your claiming decision will impact your spouse should be considered by a financial professional.

Fichtner stated that most individuals seeking Social Security benefits are focused on conserving their funds rather than maximizing their returns.

A financial advisor's recommendations should prioritize safeguarding lifetime income over maximizing returns, according to him.

One of the most common reasons Social Security beneficiaries claim early is due to concerns about the program's future. The program's trust funds may deplete within the next decade, potentially leading to an across-the-board benefit reduction unless Congress takes action sooner.

Experts suggest that delaying can lead to higher benefit amounts if any future prospective cuts are applied.

Delays in claiming can increase your lifetime income.

Fichtner stated that for every month of delay, there would be a corresponding increase in benefits.