Welcome to the forefront of conversational AI as we explore the fascinating world of AI chatbots in our dedicated blog series. Discover the latest advancements, applications, and strategies that propel the evolution of chatbot technology. From enhancing customer interactions to streamlining business processes, these articles delve into the innovative ways artificial intelligence is shaping the landscape of automated conversational agents. Whether you’re a business owner, developer, or simply intrigued by the future of interactive technology, join us on this journey to unravel the transformative power and endless possibilities of AI chatbots.
Social Security
AI chatbots confidently recommend outdated Social Security strategies, such as the restricted application, that were eliminated for anyone born after January 2, 1954.
A wrong Social Security filing date locks in a reduced monthly benefit for life, reshaping your tax bracket and survivor benefits for decades.
Verify any claiming decision at ssa.gov or with a fee-only advisor, keeping in mind that chatbots work for general concepts but cannot account for your personal details.
Many financial professionals are salespeople paid on what they push, not whether you end up wealthier. A fiduciary is the opposite. The SEC legally requires them to put your interests first. Advisor.com’s free matching tool pairs you with vetted fiduciaries from major national firms, all in under three minutes. See who you match with today.
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Picture a 63-year-old widow who still works part-time and is deciding whether to claim Social Security now. She could start a survivor benefit on her late husband’s record, wait for her own retirement benefit to grow, or reverse the order if the numbers favor that approach. She asks an AI chatbot. It responds that deemed filing prevents her from claiming only one benefit while delaying the other. The explanation is fluent, detailed, and wrong.
Deemed filing generally forces someone applying for retirement or spousal benefits to apply for both at once. It does not apply to survivor benefits. A widow may be able to collect a survivor benefit first and switch to her own higher retirement benefit later. The chatbot found a real rule. It attached it to the wrong benefit.
That is the danger. According to the FINRA Investor Education Foundation’s latest National Financial Capability Study, 20% of U.S. adults say they would be interested in receiving financial advice from artificial intelligence. A wrong answer delivered hesitantly invites another question. A wrong answer delivered with confidence becomes a plan.
For most workers born January 2, 1954, or later, the old restricted-application strategy for spousal benefits is gone. Someone eligible for both a personal retirement benefit and a benefit on a living spouse’s record is generally deemed to apply for both. Survivor benefits follow a different rule. Social Security explicitly permits an eligible widow or widower to begin survivor benefits independently of personal retirement benefits. That creates two potential paths:
The right path depends on both benefit estimates, the widow’s age, her late husband’s claiming history, and her current earnings. Her part-time job matters because survivor benefits are subject to the retirement earnings test before FRA.
In 2026, someone under full retirement age for the entire year can earn $24,480 before withholding begins. Social Security withholds $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above that limit. The strategy may still work, but the paycheck has to be included in the comparison.
Social Security rules are filled with pairs that sound nearly identical but produce opposite answers:
These are not obscure differences once they affect a real person. Each one can change which benefit she files for, when she files, and how much cash actually reaches her account.
A claiming decision is difficult to reverse. Social Security generally allows someone to withdraw an application within 12 months of approval, but the benefits received must be repaid, including certain payments made to family members. The withdrawal is generally allowed only once.
After FRA, a recipient can suspend retirement benefits and earn delayed retirement credits until 70. That is not a full reset. It does not erase every consequence of claiming early, and suspending one benefit can affect payments made to others on the same record. The 2026 cost-of-living adjustment of 2.8% is applied to the benefit produced by the claiming decision. Start with a smaller monthly amount, and future percentage increases begin from that smaller base.
Think of a chatbot as a research assistant, not the person allowed to press “file.” Let it translate Social Security jargon, surface rules worth checking, and help build a smarter list of questions. Then take its homework to the source. Pull your retirement estimates and earnings history from your my Social Security account, ask the agency for survivor-benefit estimates at different claiming ages, and compare both paths with any part-time earnings included. AI can help draw the map. It should not choose the road.
Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.
Gerelyn Terzo is the author of dividend investing handbook “Dividend Investing Strategies: How to Have Your Cake & Eat It Too.” A veteran financial journalist, she covers agri-finance for outlets like Global AgInvesting and the broader stock market and personal finance for 24/7 Wall Street. She began at CNBC and later helped launch Fox Business in New York. Gerelyn currently resides in Woodland Park, Colorado and dabbles in nature photography as a hobby.
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