For high-net-worth Americans, Social Security remains a subject of fascination, even though it won’t play as large a role in their retirement planning.

“It’s an observable phenomenon,” Bill LaCasse, advisor and principal at SRG Financial Services in Osage Beach, Mo., says. “When you invite people to a Social Security event, you would think that it might bring out middle- or lower-income people highly dependent on Social Security for retirement, but instead it brings out a lot of high-net-worth people who are interested in advice and planning.”

Landes has used Social Security to give affluent clients additional options in retirement.

“A lot of my high-net-worth clients have been charitably inclined,” Landes says. “They’re looking to protect assets so they can pass them on, so planning is about maximizing their benefit so they can avoid spending down their assets.”

But some high-net-worth clients aren’t receiving Social Security advice.

“I continue to be surprised at how many high-net-worth clients come to our seminars,” Mike Lynch, vice president of strategic markets for Hartford Funds in Hartford, Conn., says. “They aren’t learning about strategies because their advisors assume they will not need Social Security. There’s still a desire on their part to be educated as to what their options are. It’s a great way to prospect.”

In the case of a market downturn during the first months of retirement, electing to take Social Security earlier in lieu of drawing on a retirement account can help hedge against sequence of returns risk.

“If they retire at the top of a market peak, and they start drawing from their portfolio as the market starts to decline, they could reach a point where they run out of money,” LaCasse says. “If they retire at the bottom of a trough, they could take 5 percent out a year and watch their portfolio continue to grow. Social Security can help them avoid drawing out of their retirement savings in a down market.”

Social Security is especially important for women, who often outlive their spouses and are more affected by time spent out of the workforce and divorce. Social Security strategy also changes for married couples due to the availability of spousal benefits, but the most common questions advisors hear are about when to claim benefits.

To advisors’ exasperation, some clients request to take Social Security early because they’re apprehensive about the program’s future, while others want to take their benefits early while they’re younger and in better health.