Mystified by the Social Security Administration? Here's an Inside Look

Given its importance to the retirement security of millions of working Americans, the U.S. Social Security Administration gets a lot of attention in both popular media outlets and in specialist finance industry publications, including ThinkAdvisor.

But that doesn’t mean the program is entirely well understood by financial advisors and their clients. Far from it, in fact.

From worrying headlines about the Social Security program’s funding gap to painful questions about disability benefit claiming delays, there’s a lot to unpack — not to mention the dazzling nuance involved in optimal Social Security claiming. The program is also common fodder for political debates, even if the candidates’ positions often lack substance.

Fortunately, there are some highly knowledgable independent experts who know the SSA, its strengths and its challenges inside out. Among them is Jason Fichtner, the former chief economist for the Social Security Administration who is now vice president and chief economist at the Bipartisan Policy Center and a senior fellow with the Alliance for Lifetime Income.

Earlier this year, I had the chance to sit down with the former SSA official to talk all things Social Security, and Fichtner had an abundance of insight to share about the inner workings of the Social Security Administration — from how its representatives are trained to how the agency defines key terms and concepts in its public-facing educational materials.

Fichtner also addressed his retirement-focused testimony on Capitol Hill about surprising benefit clawbacks, the evolving role of guaranteed income for retirement savers, advisor compensation, conflict of interest questions and more.

Check out the podcast episode here, and please consider sharing it with a client or colleague who worries about the program’s future.

Pictured; Jason Fichtner