Retirement income planning has become more important than ever as we see more and more companies move away from pension and defined benefit plans. It is up to every individual to ensure that they are “retirement ready.” The decisions you are making today, throughout your career and upon retiring will have a huge impact on how much income you’re going to have at retirement. And therefore it is imperative that you do proper retirement income planning with a financial adviser.

Are you putting away enough money each month to meet your retirement goal? Are you utilizing the proper asset allocation for your age and risk tolerance? Are you taking advantages of the tax deductions, or is tax eating away at your returns? The scary phrase that I often hear is that people spend more time planning their vacation than they do for their retirement — which is going to be the longest vacation of their life.

One part of retirement planning that is often overlooked is Social Security. People tend to think of claiming of the Social Security benefit at the same time as they retire. Social Security benefits should not be seen as a replacement of your pre-retirement salary checks, but more as a supplement to your retirement income. And just as you would with your retirement accounts such as 401(k)s or IRAs, you need to look at how Social Security fits in with your overall retirement picture and figure out when and how to start drawing from it.

One strategy that is going away soon is called “file and suspend,” where the high earner in a couple files for his/her own benefit but suspends it, allowing the spouse to collect a spousal benefit. If you are 66 years old now (born before May 1, 1950), you can still take advantage of this strategy, but you have to get over to the Social Security Office and file before the deadline of April 29.

Another strategy that is going away is the “restricted application.” It allows spouses to collect spousal benefit even if their own benefit was higher —now why would anyone want to do this? Because it allows them to earn the 8 percent annual delayed credit on their own benefit until 70, while still collecting a check. For those who were not 62 or older on Dec. 31, you will no longer have this option — you won’t be able to collect spousal and then switch to your own benefit. You will be required to file for all benefits or wait on all benefits.

Many couples used the combination of “file and suspend” and “restricted application” to maximize their household Social Security income. Consider Kimo and Lani, both age 66 and married. Kimo’s Social Security benefits are higher than Lani’s because throughout his career Kimo has been the higher wage earner. For them to take advantage of the current law, Kimo needs to go to the Social Security office, “file and suspend” his benefit, allowing Lani to file for a “restricted application” where she will collect a spousal benefit (half of Kimo’s) and switch to her own when she is 70. After April 29 Kimo will no longer be able to file and suspend, therefore Lani would not be able to collect the spousal benefit unless Kimo begins collecting his own, and thereby forfeiting the 8 percent annual delayed credit. For couples like Kimo and Lani, the changes will have a rather large impact on how much they can collect as a household.

For many people it is not easy to resist the temptation of collecting that monthly check at age 62 as soon as they become eligible. It is the most popular age Americans begin collecting Social Security. For some it makes sense. They might need that monthly check to live on because they didn’t save enough, or they don’t think they’ll live very long, so they think they are better off collecting early.

However, even with the changing laws, one thing remains the same: You maximize your benefit by delaying. Delaying collecting to 70 will yield 76 percent higher income than if you were to begin at 62.

Also, by delaying your benefit, you are also increasing the survivor benefit if you were to predecease your spouse. I just ran an analysis for a client. If he were to wait to collect until 70 instead of 62, he would collect a whopping $190,000 more by age 90. So we looked at his assets, 401(k), IRA, stocks and bonds to come up with an income plan between now and when he’s 70 so that he can delay and maximize his Social Security benefit. After all, he did pay into Social Security for 40-plus years. There is nothing wrong with wanting to get every dollar that you are entitled to.

Kana Aikawa is a financial adviser at Wealth Managing Partners Inc. She has a Bachelor of Business Administration in finance and management from the Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Reach her at 954-7072.