Can DW's SS Benefits Increase When I File?

[DaddyLongLeg]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

Not quite. My fra is at 66 so if i take ss early the amount of spousal is still based on what my full would have been not what i am getting. As long as the spouse receiving spousal is fra when spousal kicks in it is always based on subtracting 1/2 the higher fra amount from the lower fra amount and adding the difference to the lower early benefit.

If both are taking it early there is a calcultor because the formula is different

thank you!

[PamelaIamela]

This is like the eighty-jillionth SS thread on CD alone.

I think that marriage should play no role in any benefits, anywhere, anytime, anyplace.

Marriage is BS .....so there!

[mathjak107]

I agree . I think it is wrong to pay married people based on someone elses record . The choice not to work and stay home with kids is a personal choice . Singles have no such safety net .

But i am happy that is how they do it since it works in our favor , but like lots of things in life or our tax code there are things done that are really not the right thing to do anymore . In my parents generation moms stayed home . That is rare today and quite frankly there is no need to .

If that is a choice you make then you should have to live with the ramifications of that choice.

There will be loads of questions on ss because it iis one of the biggest financial decisions one makes in their life. It is a very complex system with lots of rules and twists and turns

[mathjak107]

Originally Posted by PamelaIamela

This is like the eighty-jillionth SS thread on CD alone.

There should be more questions then we see but to many base things on what if i die instead of the all more important what if i live .

Some people still grandfathered in for restricted application can leave as much as a 100k on the table not taken .

Others leave a spouse in poor shape with severely reduced survivor benefits. There is just so much to know and look at i don't think we se enough questions. But of course when you don't know what you don't know you think you know all you need to know

[rothbear]

Originally Posted by Stratman

This has probably been addressed here before but I've spent an hour searching older threads and can't find the answer. I retired last year but have not started drawing SS, planning on waiting until FRA. DW started taking her SS benefits when she turned 62 a couple of years ago. When I start drawing my benefits at 66, can she get her benefits increased up to half of mine?

This is exactly what happened to us. I filed at 62 due to the fact I lost my job, couldn't find a new one at age 60 and ran out of unemployment. Had no choice as we were paying off a mortgage on one house while trying to sell the other one which took 2.5 years. Hubby retired last October at FRA with benefits about $2124. I went ahead and filed for spousal anyway to see what happens but got a letter saying that no I didn't qualify for any more benefits since I was already getting $888, which was more than what I would get with my lowered amount. Was told that if you file at 62 you only get about 30% of spouse benefits rather than 50%.

In 20/20 hindsight I should just have stayed home and not worked at all. Wasted a college degree in a medical field and 30 years of work for a measly $888 per month.