Deciding when to begin taking Social Security is not an easyfeat – even for financial advisers.

There are many factors to consider, such as health, wealth andfamily situations.

Naturally, the devil's in the details. And, as with anygovernment program, there are lots of them. Michael Lonier,retirement management analyst and head of Lonier Financial Advisorynear Sarasota, Fla., shared the ins and outs of Social Securityplanning.

Here are his views on common misconceptions, myths and flawed –or at least confused – thinking on the best time to take SocialSecurity benefits.

Read on for a discussion of nine myths of Social Security worthbusting:

Social Security Myth 1: Youshould claim early, before your full retirement age, in order to“get back what you put in.”

This is a fallacious argument, Lonier said. “The basic issue youare dealing with is that people want money sooner rather than laterand find reasons to justify that.”

Blame human nature, he said. “It has to do with the decliningutility theory and the diminishing value of returns, I guess.”

While sooner may seem better, there are lots of reasons it maynot be the best retirement scenario.

For example, if you retire at age 62 in 2016, the maximummonthly benefit would be $2,102, according to the Social SecurityAdministration.

However, those waiting until their full retirement age, 67,receive a maximum benefit of $2,639 in 2016. And those retiring atage 70 in 2016 have a maximum benefit of $3,576.

Social Security Myth 2: It'sbest to take it early, since you don't know how long you willlive.

Longevity continues to increase.

According to a recent study conducted by the University ofMichigan published in The American Journal of Public Health, theaverage woman can expect to live to 85.5. For men, that figure hasrisen significantly to 83.

Yet, few people “delay getting their Social Security to age 70,which is unfortunate,” explained Lonier. “The longer you wait, thegreater amount you get each month.”

This amount significantly affects retirement, since SocialSecurity is a big part of people's incomes, he added.

The rate at age 70 can be almost double that of age 62.

“Those who have not worked or saved as much as others would mostbenefit from waiting, but most don't have income to spend whilewaiting,” Lonier said. “Thus, many are forced to go and takeSocial Security early, as it is their only source of income.”

Unfortunately, by taking it early, “You are not able to get moreover time,” the adviser explained.

Social Security Myth 3: Bytaking benefits early, you will be able to pay less intaxes.

There's a widespread notion that retirees should first tap intoSocial Security and then begin withdrawing funds from their IRAsand other private savings vehicles.

However, by reversing that strategy, some retirees may be ableto lower the taxes they pay over their lifetime.

Consider that Social Security benefits are taxed at a preferredrate. This means at least 15% of Social Security income istax-free.

With a traditional IRA, 100% of withdrawals are taxed atordinary income tax rates.

Plus, some retirees taking both Social Security and IRAwithdrawals find themselves facing a so-called tax torpedo. This iswhen Social Security benefits get taxed and retirees move intohigher tax brackets.

“There really are some things that are in the realm of controlof retirees — and that really matter,” Lonier said, like using somesavings early on to increase the tax-advantaged benefit you get inlater years.

“Thus, if you can tap some savings first, retirees can boosttheir Social Security income later in retirement and lower theirtaxes,” he said.

Social Security Myth 4: Withpolitical gridlock and other problems in Washington, you can'texpect Social Security to stay solvent forever, so you should takebenefits as soon as you can.

A report by the Social Security trustees say the program's trustfunds will be depleted in 2034.

Once that happens, payroll taxes will be its sole source offunding. Researchers estimate that the taxes would cover between75% and 79% of benefits.

Voters concerned about the stability of Social Security shouldelect those to office who share their views, says Lonier.

Perhaps, if the majority of voters give politicians inWashington a clear message on what they want for the program in thefuture, their elected representatives will protect it or adoptspecific reforms, he adds.

The advisor reminds retirees and investors that there are noguarantees.

“Anything can happen,” Lonier said. “And you have to have thesame assumption with Treasury bonds. There are no risk-freeinvestments.”

Social Security Myth 5: Youunderstand the Social Security breakeven point, and it still seemsbest to take Social Security before age 70.

The breakeven point, generally speaking, represents the age atwhich a retiree taking benefits before age 70 would begin to haveless money over their lifetime than if that same retiree hadwaited.

The reverse is also true: The breakeven point represents the ageat which a retiree waiting until age 70 begins to have more moneyover their lifetime than if he or she had elected to take benefitsearlier.

“Most people I talk with get the breakeven point and thetradeoff between taking money now and getting a lower amountforever vs. waiting and getting a higher amount — with thebreakeven point representing the crossover [or intersection] of thetwo strategies,” Lonier explained.

Lots of people, he says, believe they won't live to thebreakeven year.

However, many are on the high side of the life-expectancyspectrum, even if they have a chronic illness, the advisoradds.

“And it's worth factoring in the benefits of tax-advantageddollars from Social Security into the breakeven analysis. Thatcould move the breakeven closer to age 80, for some people,” heexplained.

“Those who think they will just live to 82 and get to 85 or 90really will get less money than they expected if they took SocialSecurity too early,” Lonier said. “They will then really needlongevity insurance or another source of income.”

Social Security Myth 6: Youdon't need to maximize monthly Social Security benefits becauseyou'll be spending less in retirement.

Some retirees expect to spend less, since they have paid offtheir mortgage, are not paying college tuition for children and caneven turn to their kids for support if needed.

“Retirement planning is more complicated than this,” Loniersaid. “You have two components — cash flow and income, which isSocial Security and maybe a pension and financial capital.”

For each retiree, of course, the income and expenses vary.

“Some people can live frugally, have lower expenses than incomeand will do fine,” he explained. “But if they are leveraged,meaning they spend furiously and run up credit-card debt — and thattheir spending exceeds their income — they will do poorly.”

When retirees' spending exceeds their income, there's trouble.“It's that simple,” Lonier said.

“Again, this is why we advise people to wait longer to get moremoney from Social Security to cover expenses with higher income.It's worthwhile to try and delay Social Security.”

As for spending, even retirees have paid off their principalresidence, there are other costs to consider for cars, pets, otherhomes and so on.

Social Security Myth 7: GettingSocial Security means you don't have to worry about spending a lotof money on health care since you'll be getting Medicare,too.

While acknowledging that health care spending and expenses are“a complex subject,” Lonier says: “The bottom line is that they aregoing up. For example, Medicare Part B premiums increased thisyear.”

Of course, Social Security payments do get adjusted forinflation, “but those increases can get eaten up by the Medicareincrease,” he explains.

Retiree health care costs depend on a variety of factors, ofcourse, including whether or not someone has a chronic conditionsuch as diabetes.

The current cap on out-of-pocket expenses for those withMedicare Advantage plans, for instance, is $6,700 a year (or aslittle as $3,400 under some plans).

“We say to people that it's a good idea to get a cap on yourexpenses, to get a plan that allows you to know the maximum you canexpect to pay out for health care each year,” the advisorstated.

He cautions that those who don't take care of themselves andsuffer from associated health problems will likely pay more out ofpocket for health care costs. At the same time, those who do takecare of themselves can expect to live longer and should planaccordingly, Lonier says.

Social Security Myth 8: Youdon't need to worry about Social Security, because your kids orother family members can always help support you and even let youlive with them, if needed.

“As with other sources of support, youcan't completely count on children,” Lonier explained. “Of course,nobody knows the future.”

It's important to get away from the notion that it is acceptableto not plan for the future and assume someone else will fix yourproblems, he adds.

If children can help out or take care of their parents in the62-to-70 age range, then the parents can take Social Security at alater age and get higher monthly payments.

“This is what we refer to as multigenerational financialplanning,” the advisor stated.

If, for instance, the parents don't have much savings, but theirkids have good-paying jobs, the family can work together on afinancial plan.

“They can learn what could cost them less in the long term,”Lonier said. “You can plan holistically and figure out how to fundthe early stage of retirement. It all depends on thecircumstances.”

Social Security Myth 9: You cannever get the right information on Social Securitybenefits.

The Social Security Administration website provides pre-retireesand those in retirement with a large quantity of information, factsheets and more.

It does take a few minutes to create a My Social Securityaccount online, but the account gives you full details on yourbenefits at different ages. (See www.SocialSecurity.gov orhttps://www.ssa.gov/myaccount/.

For those who want to get some details on benefits before doingcreating an official SSA account, there's a quick calculator ofbenefits online that can be used. See https://www.ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc/index.html

“You can also Google lots of this,” said Lonier. “There isSocial Security information everywhere.”

While the SSA now offers most services online, includingrequests for replacement Social Security cards, it maintains anetwork of offices nationwide for face-to-face assistance.

The general toll-free number, 800-772-1213, can be reached 12hours a day from Monday through Friday.