Ep 28 - Taylor Sohns - 3 (Rational) Reasons to Take Social Security at 62 (Or: How to Stop Deferring an Already Deferred Life)

Your Money Guide on the Side

How secure is your future benefit and what should you actually do about it?

Taylor Sohns is a Certified Financial Planner™ and co-founder of Life Goal Wealth Advisors. Before starting his own firm, Taylor spent over a decade inside some of Wall Street’s biggest investment shops — the ones that build the ETFs, mutual funds, and hedge funds you’ve probably been pitched. Now he works on the other side of the table, helping everyday investors align their portfolios with their real-world goals.

📚 What We Discuss with Taylor Sohns:

🧮 02:30 — “Coming back to the math” — social security basics
📊 05:20 — The cumulative payout — monthly benefit vs. break-even point
❤️ 08:15 — Spousal benefits — why your timing affects more than just you
📉 11:50 — Social security cuts — what to consider beyond just “take it early”
💼 15:55 — Working after you start social security — common myths
📅 18:00 — Who should wait, who shouldn’t — the role of base rates and earning history
🧠 22:20 — Investment management = behavior management — risk, emotion, and real-life planning
🎯 26:15 — How risk tolerance is actually measured — and how firms get it wrong
📺 29:00 — Reactive news and robust markets — longterm vision
⚖️ 33:30 — Passive vs. active investing — ETFs, experience and exposure.
🔀 37:00 — Is there a middle ground? When active management makes sense

💡 What You’ll Walk Away With

• How to assess your own social security timing with math — not fear
• What to know about spousal and survivor benefits before you make a move
• How potential cuts to the system could affect your plan (and what not to panic about)
• What it really means to “work while claiming” — and who that works for
• Why risk tolerance isn’t just a form — and how to think about your own appetite for volatility
• A clearer understanding of the real debate between passive and active investing

🧾 Resources Mentioned

• Life Goal Wealth Advisors → www.lifegoalinvestments.com
• Taylor on Instagram → @lifegoalinvestments
• Social Security calculator → www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html
• CFP Board → www.letsmakeaplan.org

If you're still game to support the show, leaving a quick review really helps — even one sentence goes a long way!

You can also join thousands of other investing-minded folks by subscribing to the newsletter:https://socialcapconnect.substack.com/

Check out episode 26 with Tess Waresmith — a financial educator who shares the costly investing mistakes she made in her 20s, how to vet financial advisors, and why your ignorance is often someone else’s profit.