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Hi, so please pardon me in advance because I am trying to be as careful as possible when applying for medicare and social security for my mom. I mean it is not a great deal of money because my parents are immigrants working low-wage jobs. But i would want to at least make informed choices for them.
So my dad is 70 and is already receiving social security since age 64 I believe. He receives about $700 monthly. My mom will turn 65 next month (august) and when she reaches her full retirement age (age 66 next year), she will receive about $368 per month, From what I understand, since my mom is born in 1953, according the new laws (I just learned it today), she can file a restricted application next year to get spousal benefit only and she will get $350 (half of my dad's amount), and wait till age 70 to file for her own social security benefit. By then she will get over $500 a month for her own. Claiming anything this year will reduce her amount permanently.
I was about to file for social security today for her until I read about this laws. I mean delaying for 5 years may not be worth it but one more year to ride the spousal benefit until age 70 maybe a good idea?
I am really hoping for your input. Not trying to take advantage of any loophole here, just trying to help my mom get what she legitimately can get.
You have it correct. At fra she can file restricted application and get half your dad's fra amount. Not 1/2 the benefit he gets. So she may get more than 350 . She can let hers grow to 70
thank you so much for your reply! so the logical course of action here would be: sign her up for medicare now and not for any social security (she has obamacare now and no health insurance from work), sign her up for restricted application next year, then sign her up for her own social security at 70? thanks!
Well if her own will not be a lot higher ar 70 then the better deal may be taking her own now and getting that spousal adder on top of her benefit as soon as you file.
Don't forget filing restricted she gets half your full until 70 when she takes her own . As opposed to taking her benefit now plus that spousal adder if half your full is more than her full.
I filed at 65 because for every year i delayed my wife did not get 4500 a year spousal added to her benefit.
So by filing restriced all you get for a few years is just that spousal portion instead of just filing and getting your own benefit plus any spousal difference.
So in your case your dad is collecting an early benefiit since he filed early. Your moms spousal is half what his full would have been not half the 700.
So if she filled at fra for her own she would get her own benefit plus they take half your dads full and subtract her full. Any difference is added to her benefit. That can be a nice amount. Filiing restricted means all she gets is spousal to 70 .
Last edited by mathjak107; 07-06-2018 at 08:33 AM..
thank you for your explanation. so the key here is half of my dad's full vs. my mom full right? I am trying to quantify this concept by putting in some number:
Say my dad full retirement amount is $800, my mom's full is 350 (at age 66). Say if she waits till 70, she will get $600.
If my mom apply now at age 65, she will get $400 (her own reduced social security + a portion of her spousal). And it will likely stay at $400 for a long time even past 70 because she claimed early.
if she waits to file the restricted application at age 66, then she will get $400 next year till age 70, when she will get $600 from her own. So the question is whether it is worth it to lose $400 for 12 months up front in order to get $600 at age 70 (assuming no inflation-she needs 2 years past 70 to make up for the difference)
So has she applied at age 62, she would have had $400 per month or $19,200 by age 66! Going with the restricted application thing, it takes 8 years after she turns 70 to make up for the difference.
Am I understanding this right? Thank you so much for your help!
Hi, I don't mean to dig up an old thread but this is now time for my mom to apply for the restricted application. I am wondering if you (or anybody who cares to chime in) would recommend doing the paper form or the online form. I don't believe there is an actual "restricted application" to fill out. The only form I found for the purpose of applying for spousal benefit while delaying one's own benefit is SSA 2 (link provided), but I don't see an option anywhere in this form to delay taking one's own social security benefit.
I called social security but they do not seem to know that this option is still available for people who are born in 1953 or before. Unless something has changed recently and this is no longer an option?
it is still an option if you were 62 in 2015 or older
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