By collecting benefits before their normal retirement age, nearly three-quarters of all current Social Security recipients are receiving reduced benefits and limiting their retirement security.

That was the theme at Tuesday's National Retirement Planning week webinar, focused on educating financial advisors to help their clients more effectively maximize their Social Security benefits plan.

"Deciding when to begin collecting Social Security benefits needs to be considered within the framework of a holistic retirement strategy," said Cathy Weatherford, IRI president and CEO. "As the retirement paradigm continues to shift and as workers bear more responsibility for their overall retirement protection, the decision of when to collect benefits assumes an even higher level of importance. By working with a financial professional, Boomers can consider all the factors and prudently decide how to maximize their retirement security."