NEW YORK, April 18, 2023 (BUSINESS WIRE) — For the second year running, Horsesmouth’s Savvy Social Security Planning® software and education suite has received a top ranking in advisor satisfaction.
T3/Inside Information released the ranking as part of its annual 2023 industry survey that tracks software use and satisfaction among 36 different tech-stack categories. Over 3,300 financial advisors provided responses.
“We’re excited to see the top rating and that financial advisors continue to extract more and more value from the program,” said Horsesmouth CEO William T. Nicklin. “The vast majority of our members pay for the program out of their own wallets, so they are rightfully demanding. As leading advisors get further into true retirement income planning with clients, they continue to push our team to extend the capabilities and support of the program. We’re not surprised to see the survey reflect that both our market share and the size of the category are growing.”
| SOCIAL SECURITY ANALYSIS TOOLS | AVERAGE RATING |
|---|---|
| Savvy Social Security Planning | 8.70 |
| Social Security Solutions | 8.29 |
| Covisum Social Security Timing | 8.26 |
| SSAnalyzer | 8.14 |
| Nationwide SS Analyzer | 7.95 |
| MoneyGuidePro SS Module | 7.93 |
| RightCapital SS Module | 7.82 |
| Blackrock SS Analyzer | 7.75 |
| MaximizeMySocialSecurity | 7.56 |
| eMoney SS Module | 7.47 |
| OpenSocialSecurity | 7.35 |
| LifeYield Social Security Advantage | 6.59 |
Source: T3/Inside Information Software Survey 2023
N=3,309 financial advisors
The Savvy Social Security Planning program is our industry’s only comprehensive program that builds advisor expertise, educates clients, and grows your business by helping clients and prospects make intelligent Social Security decisions. It includes:
Nicklin noted that the Savvy Social Security Planning program was identified in both the 2022 and 2023 surveys from T3/Inside Information as a “Software All Star,” having one of the highest satisfaction ratings across all software categories. All Stars are “solutions that stand out—specifically, that finished in the top five of their category in market penetration, and also achieved an extraordinary (8.0+) average user rating,” according to the T3/Inside Information study. Other All Stars include Holistiplan (tax planning) and College Aid Pro™ (college planning), both of which are long-running Horsesmouth partners that offer discounts to members of our Savvy Tax Planning and Savvy College Planning programs, respectively.
“Social Security remains a topic of extreme interest among people who are looking to make smart and responsible decisions about their financial security,” said Elaine Floyd, CFP®, Horsesmouth’s director of retirement and life planning.
“Our goal every day is to make sure our Savvy Social Security Planning members have the best, most accurate, and easiest to tools and educational resources,” Floyd said. “We’re gratified to see our work confirmed in the marketplace.”
Horsesmouth developed the first Savvy Social Security Planning analytical tools over fifteen years ago to provide financial advisors with a concrete toolset for estimating lifetime Social Security benefits under differing claiming scenarios, Nicklin said.
“The purpose was twofold: to better serve existing clients by helping them maximize their Social Security benefits, and to help advisors develop new business by educating the public on Social Security and how to integrate this important source of income into the rest of their retirement income plan,” he said. “The first tools were well received, and a new category of financial software was born.”
Originally, the toolset focused on claiming age: when should a client claim Social Security retirement benefits if the goal is to maximize the total amount received over a lifetime. Later, a secondary, equally important purpose evolved: understanding ancillary benefits. Many people are entitled to spousal, survivor, divorced-spouse, or dependent benefits in addition to their own retirement benefit, and these ancillary benefits need to be understood and incorporated into the overall claiming strategy.
Over the years, the Savvy Social Security Planning software has been extended to better account for married couples, divorced individuals, and widows. WEP/GPO analysis was added for people who worked in jobs that did not pay into Social Security. All customized claiming options are displayed in an attractive, informative report that tells clients what to do and when, along with a detailed income stream for each claiming scenario, leading to better-informed decisions.
Even with expanding capabilities of the software, the complexity of Social Security rules and operations means that financial professionals often require expert support. Our team, led by Elaine Floyd, answers detailed cases every day via the Savvy Social Security Planning website. Advisors can access and search tens of thousands of these Q & As.
Unfortunately, the free tools available to the public and the free modules offered to financial advisors as part of general financial planning packages are not equipped to address complex cases and deliver precise estimates and instructions. There is also a plentiful amount of bad information that circulates among the public and advisors. We remain dedicated to continuing to extend the software and complementary guidance required to offer the most comprehensive and potent solution for financial professionals. We plan to make more announcements along these lines later this year.
Learn more about the Savvy Social Security Planning program.
Learn more about the Horsesmouth Master Membership that includes access to all Horsesmouth programs, including Savvy Social Security Planning, Savvy Medicare Planning, Savvy Tax Planning, Savvy IRA Planning, Savvy College Planning, Savvy Generational Planning, Savvy Long-Term Care Planning and Savvy Cybersecurity. The program also includes year-round marketing programs, a daily flow of new practice management and business development resources, dozens of continually updated presentations and client references (all FINRA-reviewed), access to experts, monthly newsletters, and industry-leading discounts from our best-of-breed software partners like Holistiplan (tax planning) and College Aid Pro™ (college planning).
Horsesmouth helps financial professionals educate their clients and grow their businesses. We serve financial advisors, planners, agents, accountants and other professionals, representing every major financial firm and business model. The Horsesmouth team is guided by extensive primary research and two decades of experience. The company is headquartered in midtown Manhattan, with employees spread out across the country. To learn more, visit horsesmouth.com.
Contacts
Horsesmouth
Melissa Daniel
(212) 217-1131
melissa@horsesmouth.com
