I’m Steve Garfink, a business writer and communicator with an abiding commitment to improve the financial security of baby boomers as they move on from their earlier careers.  Whether this means scaling back in their current vocation, shifting to an encore career, are retiring from the workforce to pursue other passions, financial stability is essential for mental tranquility as we age.  Those boomers who comfortably enjoy adequate income from a pension and/or other assets make up a small percentage of all boomers, perhaps 15% to 20%.  For the rest of us Social Security benefits will be the principal source of income as we grow older.

Given current life expectancy, this means that a large majority of boomers should claim their benefits later not earlier.  Yet in practice just the opposite happens with half claiming at age 62 and over three quarters claiming before they even reach Full Retirement Age (currently age 66).  The only explanation for this behavior is ignorance about how Social Security works.  As I looked deeper into this paradox over the last several years, I became determined to shift this behavior, since it has the potential to right the financial ships of the majority of boomers, restoring financial stability that can deliver financial security throughout their lifetimes.  That’s why I started Social Security Now of Later and I hope you will join me in spreading my educational message to all baby boomers as well as the generations to follow.  Then everyone will have the opportunity to understand how to get the most out of their Social Security retirement benefits.

I also offer financial planning consulting to the International Living community in the form of my Personal Financial Roadmap (Niches & Loopholes). In addition to a lifetime of adventure and discovery, moving overseas can often deliver a life of luxury on a Social Security income. My service involves examining all the financial pieces for my clients, including Social Security claiming strategy, then putting them all together in a format that defines a budget over a lifetime that has minimal risk of ever running out of money: that’s the worry that we do NOT want to have as we age!

My 35+ years’ work experience in finance, strategic planning, and general management provides me particular expertise in presenting financial concepts to the general public and in financial modeling that I have applied to developing Social Security claiming strategies and integrating these strategies into a secure budget plan for retirement. I enjoyed a varied career that included a position as controller for a $50 million multi-year, multi-country regional agronomy and small business US AID development program in West Africa, environmental services management in waste-water treatment facilities, permitting, and on-site remediation, and technology opportunities in security software and most recently vehicle automation. My education includes a BA degree with honors from Yale in International Development Studies and an MBA from Stanford in Finance and Public Management.

I am a skilled public speaker, having conducted dozens and dozens of presentations and workshops on Social Security claiming strategy.  To learn more about my speaking and workshop services, please contact me.