social security benefits (husband, 55, divorce, divorced)

[mathjak107]

yes you can collect spousal benefits while working as long as you are of full retirement age and your spouse has filed.. then when you retire collect your own..
it dosnt matter if yours will be higher, you havent filed yet so your own keeps growing at 8% a year for every year you wait and you get to double dip with a spousal benefit while waiting.
most of us are planning to do that, my wife will file at 62, ill collect my wifes 1/2 as small as it is at 66 and then lock in my higher rate at 70

Social Security Strategy - Collect A Spousal Benefit Now And Your Own Benefit Later

[DeeRae]

AARP said:
If you wait until full retirement age to apply you do have a choice. For those who plan on working past full retirement age, this presents an opportunity. When you reach full retirement age, you can apply for benefits and choose to begin collecting a spousal benefit based on your spouse’s earnings record, (or ex-spouse if you were married for at least ten years). Your own social security benefit will continue to accumulate delayed retirement credits until your age seventy.

[marmac]

No wonder our SS system is going broke !

The oroiginal intent of the spousal benefit was to help out women who were housewives and had not worked out ( common in the 40's and 50's)

Now it appears the purpose of it has changed and people are milking the system.

Young people should be quite upset that despite the money they are paying in SS is going broke.

If they read the posts by DeeRae and mathlack107, they should be even more upset !

[mathjak107]

anyone is entitled to file for their own or a spouses at retirement age , they set it up on purpose. its not a loop hole when you collect on a spouses while leaving yours intact. they like it this way , they save money, because if i filed as an an example at 66 they would have to pay me alot more than 1/2 my wifes. it would be 2x as much

if i die they really make out

[DeeRae]

This is copied straight from the Soc. Security website, so it is legit.

Can I get both my own benefit and a spouse's benefit?
Since you are at or above your full retirement age you can choose to either:

• get your retirement benefit and any additional benefit payable as a spouse, or
• get the full amount of the spouse's benefit and delay receiving your retirement benefit.

By delaying receipt of your own retirement benefit, you can earn Delayed Retirement Credits (up to age 70) which will increase the amount of your retirement benefit when you eventually choose to get it.


I prefer to take the lesser amount while I am still working because I don't want to up my tax obligation a whole lot. My son needs this to return to school, so I'm like the other poster, I would either take this or have to take my whole amount now - which would just cost SS more.

[miokie]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

most of us are planning to do that, my wife will file at 62, ill collect my wifes 1/2 as small as it is at 66 and then lock in my higher rate at 70

Social Security Strategy - Collect A Spousal Benefit Now And Your Own Benefit Later

That link says

Works if: You and your spouse have both reached full retirement age and your spouse has applied for benefits.

At 62, your wife will not be at full retirement age. (She'll reach eligibility age but that's not the same as full retirement age)
Have you checked with SS to make sure your plan will work, in the scenario youve described?

[mathjak107]

ill double check but the next sentance in the link says "Works if: You and your spouse have both reached full retirement age and your spouse has applied for benefits.

If you apply for social security benefits before full retirement age, you automatically qualify for a benefit based on your own earning’s record, or 50% of your spouse’s benefit, whichever is higher. You cannot choose which to take. "

[texdav]

Persoanlly I am taking mine now and my wife when she gets 62. It isn't much but with our pensions we will do more than fine. I thni we are going to see a reductio0n in benefits and a increase for both benefit ages in the near future. That is because there is no way thatthey can riase the payroll atx high enough on its own.A few years ago I watch all teh commison headed by senator Breaux on SS and there was alot of proposals that would not benefit anyone who waited.I noticed the other day that CBO reduced the years until SS is under funded by two years because of this recession.Also noted that this presdient will like the last two be notified as required by law that the SS system in in crisis and he will have to respond with propoasls as required by law to fix it to congress.

[mathjak107]

key word is "more then fine".. that means you won the game tex, congradulations!

[miokie]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

ill double check but the next sentance in the link says "Works if: You and your spouse have both reached full retirement age and your spouse has applied for benefits.

If you apply for social security benefits before full retirement age, you automatically qualify for a benefit based on your own earning’s record, or 50% of your spouse’s benefit, whichever is higher. You cannot choose which to take. "

If you apply before full retirement age, the problem kicks in if benefits from your earnings are greater than 50% of your spouse's. In that case, they start paying you your benefits, and you quit accumulating credits. So you're stuck with that reduced benefit for the rest of your life.

That might be OK with you but not everyone will want to go that route. Some folks would rather wait until both they and their spouse have reached full retirement age so they then can *choose* which arrangement works better for them.

Again, everyone needs to make sure they understand *exactly* how the SS spousal rules affect them.