Social Security planning for a military family, from Savant Wealth Management

What does Social Security planning cover for a family of 4?

Most families leaving service believe Social Security is a claim-age question for 62 or later. The SSA's rules say otherwise: the record you build now already pays survivor and child benefits today. Social Security planning covers 4 things: both spouses' earnings records, each spouse's estimate at 62, 67 and 70, child and mother's benefits if a parent dies, and how the earnings test hits a working spouse.

It matters most for a retiring service member with children under 18 and a spouse who has her own earnings record. Savant Wealth Management advisors start there, not with the age you'll claim.

When does Social Security change the SBP math?

Social Security changes the SBP math whenever a deceased worker leaves an unmarried child under 18 (19 if still in high school). Each child can draw up to 75% of the worker's full-retirement-age benefit, within a family maximum. While the kids are home, the gap SBP has to fill is smaller.

Many families assume SBP is the only survivor income. It isn't, and that belief can lead to over-buying coverage or skipping the check entirely. (The SBP break-even has its own page.)

Take a hypothetical household: Ramon and Keiko, 43 and 41. Ramon is an Army master sergeant retiring after 22 years under High-3. Keiko manages a dental office. They have 2 kids, aged 9 and 12, and have never owned a home. Ramon starts a $120,000 defense-contractor job in 3 months, his SBP election is pending, and they hold $380,000 in the TSP.

Assume Ramon's statement shows a benefit of $2,400 each month at 67. If he died this year, each child under 18 could get 75% of that: $1,800 each month, or $21,600 each year. The 12-year-old collects for 6 years ($129,600) and the 9-year-old for 9 years ($194,400). That's $324,000 in total before COLAs. Both are paid in full if the family maximum, assumed here at $4,200 (175% of $2,400), covers the $3,600 they draw together.

Yes, those benefits stop as each child turns 18. That's exactly why the gap is temporary: $324,000 is income SBP and life coverage don't have to replace while the kids are home.

Keiko's own mother's benefit, available while a child under 16 is in her care, follows the earnings test. Her $70,000 salary (illustrative) minus the SSA limit of $24,480 for 2026 is $45,520. Half of that, $22,760, is withheld each year. That's more than her $21,600 a year benefit ($1,800 × 12), so it pays $0 while she keeps working at that salary.

Two links matter. Whichever age Ramon and Keiko pick to claim decides how long the $380,000 TSP or the new 401(k) must carry them, and TSP withdrawal planning works through that bridge. Military retired pay also doesn't shrink a Social Security benefit; the Social Security Fairness Act repealed WEP and GPO for other pensions anyway. Military retirement planning puts all these due dates on one list.

The first 90 days at Savant Wealth Management, week by week

In weeks 1 and 2, Ramon and Keiko each open a my Social Security account and save a copy of every year of their earnings history. Savant Wealth Management lines up every year next to their W-2s, including Ramon's military W-2s from DFAS.

Weeks 3 and 4 are for gaps. Savant Wealth Management flags any year that shows $0 or less than the W-2 for that year. The client files Form SSA-7008 with the W-2 as proof, and the firm writes down which years are still open for correction.

In weeks 5 to 8 the firm tallies the child benefits, the mother's benefit and the earnings-test effect. Then it hands the couple the survivor income gap as a dollar figure. They take that number into the SBP election, due before Ramon's retirement date, and into the life coverage question.

Weeks 9 to 13 cover claim ages. Savant Wealth Management projects 62, 67 and 70 for both spouses as ranges, not single numbers. The couple receives a short written list of due dates in order: SBP election, 401(k) match enrollment at the new job, open record fixes, and the next record check in 12 months.

That order is the habit. The plan is one decision at a time, each with its number on the table, and nobody models a claim age while an old year still reads $0.

When is it time to start Social Security planning?

Start before the SBP election is due, which is before the retirement date, so the survivor tally has to come first. The benefit uses your highest 35 years of earnings. Ramon has about 22 years, so roughly 13 more years at $120,000 replace zeros.

His $120,000 is under the SSA's $184,500 wage base for 2026, so every dollar counts. The $24,480 earnings test matters for any survivor who works. For Ramon, ages 62, 67 and 70 are 19 to 27 years away. For Keiko they are 21 to 29 years away. The claim age itself can wait.

Bring both earnings records to the intro call

The intro call goes faster with paper in hand. The list below is what to bring. Birth dates matter because they set when child benefits end.

Savant Wealth Management emails its fee schedule before the call, then spends the call on the earnings record and the survivor gap. Claim-age theory waits.

Of every row in the table, the earnings record decides the most. A $0 year lowers the benefit, and every figure after it, child benefits included, sits on top of it. If any year shows $0 or less than your W-2, fix it before modeling a claim age or a survivor gap.

A mistake made by someone else shows why. Wages that a dental practice at an earlier duty station reported under Keiko's maiden name never posted to her record. That missing $45,000 year enters her 35-year average as $0. For illustration, $45,000 ÷ 420 months is about $107 of average monthly earnings, and at the 32% band that's about $34 each month off her benefit for life. Match each year in her record to her W-2s, then file Form SSA-7008 with the W-2 as proof.

The couple leaves with the decisions in due-date order (SBP election, 401(k) enrollment, any SSA-7008 filings) and the number each one needs, such as the $1,800 a month per child figure from their own statement.

One honest limit. At 43 and 41, the claim-age projection is a range, because 13 or more years of earnings and possible law changes will move it. The survivor and record work is what pays off now. Savant Wealth Management's client minimum is $500,000 in investable assets, so a family whose savings are mainly a $380,000 TSP can do the record check on its own first. Remember too that TSP funds can lose value, including money you put in.

• Both my Social Security earnings record printouts
• Ramon's retirement date
• Children's birth dates
• SBP election status on DD Form 2656