RSSA® for Attorneys and Legal Professionals
Turn Social Security Conversations Into Broader Client Opportunities
Social Security decisions often happen alongside important conversations about estate planning, family, assets, and long-term care.
Adding Social Security expertise to your practice gives your firm another way to start those conversations, identify related legal needs, and connect clients with services they may already need.
Build Social Security Expertise With the RSSA® Program
The RSSA® Program gives legal professionals the education, tools, and ongoing resources to understand Social Security claiming decisions and help clients evaluate their options.
Education & Training
Complete a flexible online program covering Social Security rules, claiming strategies, family benefits, case studies, and the use of RSSA Roadmap® software.
RSSA® Designation
Eligible professionals who complete the education requirements and pass the final exam can earn the Registered Social Security Analyst® designation.
Software & Support
RSSA® membership includes access to RSSA Roadmap®, continuing education opportunities, software support, case support, and additional professional resources.
Social Security Connects to the Planning Clients Already Need
A client preparing for Social Security may also be reviewing a will, creating or updating a trust, planning for Medicaid, establishing powers of attorney, preparing for long-term care, or making decisions that affect a spouse or other family members.
For elder law and estate planning firms, these issues are often closely connected. Understanding Social Security gives your team another perspective when helping clients plan for retirement and the years ahead.
Identify More Ways to Serve Each Client
A Social Security conversation can uncover planning needs that might otherwise come up much later. Clients may need help with:
- Wills and trusts
- Estate planning
- Medicaid planning
- Powers of attorney
- Asset protection
- Guardianship
- Probate and estate administration
- Special needs planning
- Survivor and family planning
Having someone in the firm who understands Social Security makes it easier to recognize when these broader conversations should happen and connect clients with the appropriate legal services.
A poorly timed Social Security claiming decision can cost your clients up to $139,000 in lifetime benefits.
Understanding how legal and financial decisions affect those benefits gives attorneys the opportunity to help clients protect more of their retirement income.
Give Referral Partners Another Reason to Recommend Your Firm
CPAs, financial professionals, insurance professionals, and other advisors regularly work with clients who have questions about Social Security. Having an RSSA® within the firm gives those professionals another resource they can turn to when a client needs help understanding their claiming options.
Those introductions can also lead to broader conversations when the client needs estate planning, elder law, probate, Medicaid planning, or other legal services.
Where Social Security Fits Into Your Legal Practice
Social Security considerations may influence the legal and financial decisions your clients are already facing.
Elder Law and Elder Care Attorneys
Your elder law clients are already asking when to claim, how a spouse's benefit factors in, and what happens if long-term care changes the picture. An RSSA® on staff means those questions get answered in the same meeting, by the same trusted advisor, instead of sending the client elsewhere. It's a natural extension of the planning conversations you're already having.
- Retirement and survivor benefits
- Coordination with Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care planning
- Powers of attorney, guardianship, and incapacity planning
- Representative payee considerations
Estate Planning, Wills and Trusts
Clients don't separate their Social Security decisions from their estate plan, even if the paperwork does. When your firm holds the RSSA® designation, survivor income, trust planning for a dependent beneficiary, and coordination with other assets all become part of one conversation, with your firm at the center of it.
- Survivor income following the death of a spouse
- Trust planning for dependent or disabled beneficiaries
- Coordination with retirement accounts and other assets
- Powers of attorney and incapacity planning
Probate and Estate Administration
The death of a spouse or parent can raise immediate Social Security questions alongside the legal and financial matters involved in settling an estate.
- Widow and widower benefits
- Divorced-survivor benefits
- Benefits for minor or dependent children
- Timing considerations for surviving spouses
Special Needs Planning
Families planning for an individual with a disability may need to coordinate legal arrangements, family resources, and Social Security or other public benefits.
- SSDI and SSI distinctions
- Disabled adult child benefit considerations
- Special needs trusts
- Coordination with Medicaid and other public benefits
Medicaid Planning
Social Security income and other retirement benefits are often part of the broader financial picture families are reviewing when planning for Medicaid or long-term care. Understanding how those benefits factor in gives your firm another way to support clients through the planning process.
- Impact of Social Security income on Medicaid eligibility
- Coordination with long-term care planning
- Spousal and household income considerations
- Planning around asset and income limits
Guardianship
Social Security benefits are often part of the picture when families are planning for the financial needs of an aging parent, a disabled family member, or another individual who requires additional support.
- Benefits for aging parents or family members needing support
- Representative payee considerations
- Coordination with disability and dependent benefits
- Financial planning for incapacitated individuals
Bring RSSA® Training to Your Whole Firm
NARSSA offers group enrollment and education opportunities for law firms, bar associations, estate-planning councils, elder law organizations, and other professional groups. Group options can make it easier to bring Social Security knowledge to multiple attorneys or professionals within the same organization.
Discuss a Firm or Group EnrollmentTurn Social Security Analysis Into a Clear Client Conversation
RSSA Roadmap® gives your firm's RSSA the software to evaluate Social Security claiming options and present the results in a way clients can understand. The software can help evaluate different claiming ages, household and family benefits, and other factors that may affect lifetime Social Security income. Instead of sending clients elsewhere for Social Security analysis, the firm can keep more of the planning conversation under one roof.
- Import benefit information using an SSA.gov file
- Evaluate spousal, survivor, and divorced-spouse benefits
- Account for benefits involving dependent children and other family members
- Compare claiming ages and potential benefit outcomes
- Create client-friendly reports in English or Spanish
A Flexible Way to Add Social Security Expertise to Your Firm
The RSSA® Program is completed online and is designed to fit around an existing professional schedule. Eligible participants complete the education requirements, learn to use RSSA Roadmap®, and take a proctored final exam before earning the designation.
Attorney Eligibility
A Juris Doctor or attorney credential satisfies the RSSA® program's professional eligibility requirement.
Flexible Online Education
The five-module program is self-paced. Most participants complete it in approximately 20–35 hours.
Proctored Final Exam
Administered and proctored online by the College for Financial Planning® — a Kaplan Company.
Hear What RSSAs® Are Saying About the Program
“Becoming a Registered Social Security Analyst® has opened doors to multiple clients and referrals. When I tell them I’m an RSSA®, they want to know more.”
Frank Garcia
“After completing the RSSA® program, I was immediately able to apply my Social Security knowledge to help a client make informed decisions about their benefits.”
Jeanine Kinzie
“Being able to help people get into a better position is so important, and I can do that because of the knowledge that being an RSSA® provides.”
Erin Fountain
“Having the RSSA® designation gives me more credibility and trust with clients. It’s not just about being a financial advisor—this shows I truly understand Social Security.”
Catherine Allen-Carlozo
Frequently Asked Questions
How Can Social Security Expertise Fit Into an Elder Law or Estate Planning Practice?
Social Security often overlaps with the retirement, estate, family, and long-term care decisions clients are already making. Having this expertise within the firm can help identify related planning needs and support broader client conversations.
Does the Attorney Have to Become the RSSA®?
Not necessarily. An attorney or another eligible member of the firm may be able to complete the RSSA® Program and serve as the firm’s Social Security resource, depending on program eligibility requirements.
Does the RSSA® Program Replace Legal, Tax, or Financial Advice?
No. RSSAs® should continue to work within their professional licenses, credentials, and responsibilities. The program provides Social Security education, analytical tools, and resources that can complement the firm’s existing services.
Is the RSSA® Program Approved for CLE Credit?
CLE requirements and approvals vary by jurisdiction. Participants should confirm whether the RSSA® program qualifies for continuing legal education credit with the applicable state or licensing authority before enrolling for that purpose.
How Much Time Does the RSSA® Program Take to Complete?
Most participants complete the five-module program in approximately 20 to 35 hours. The education is delivered online and is self-paced, allowing participants to work through the material around their existing professional schedule.
Does the Program Include Social Security Analysis Software?
Yes. RSSA® membership includes access to RSSA Roadmap®, which performs the calculations behind a Social Security analysis and helps professionals compare claiming options, evaluate household circumstances, and create client-friendly reports. The software supports the analysis, while RSSA® education teaches professionals how to interpret the results and turn them into meaningful client guidance.
Bring Social Security Knowledge Into the Moments That Matter Most
Recognize important issues earlier, ask more informed questions, and provide a more complete client experience during estate planning, aging, divorce, widowhood, disability, and other major life transitions.
Speak with our team about individual enrollment, law firm education, association partnerships, and enterprise opportunities.
Schedule a Call
Have Questions or want to see how the RSSA® Program fits into your practice?
Schedule a quick call with our team to walk through the program, software capabilities, and how other legal professionals are successfully implementing it into their practices.
Choose a TimeJD/Attorney Eligibility · Proctored by College for Financial Planning® — a Kaplan Company · Listed in the FINRA Professional Designations Database · SOC 2 Type 2 Compliant