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it is a permanent reduction if you take survivor benefits pre fra . at 62 you can not collect on his benefit if you have a record of your own and he is alive . .
if you file for your benefit early it is permanently reduced .
once you husband dies there is only survivor benefits from him .
you can take your own early benefit at 62 and switch to survivor at your fra .
if half your husbands full is more than your full the difference will get added to your early benefit but all that ends when you take survivor
it is a permanent reduction if you take survivor benefits pre fra . at 62 you can not collect on his benefit if you have a record of your own and he is alive . .
if you file for your benefit early it is permanently reduced .
once you husband dies there is only survivor benefits from him .
you can take your own early benefit at 62 and switch to survivor at your fra .
if half your husbands full is more than your full the difference will get added to your early benefit but all that ends when you take survivor
Most old-style corporate pension plans offer several payout plans, one of which would have a survivor's benefit, but at a lower initial payout. Perhaps they did not choose that payout plan ?
Good point. That may very well be the case. They seem like the sort to take what they can get NOW and not plan for their future. And now...what is happening to them is certainly not what they thought would.
i am a big believer in communicating with your spouse and getting their input on what they want .
there are so many spouses that just get things dumped on them because the other spouse was in to investing and now the surviving spouse has not a clue what to do or the markets did not co-operate and now the survivor is under funded .
i know my wife would not be happy with 80% of our income dependent on the whims of markets and rates after being a widow once in her life already .
we started modifying things by delaying ss and getting less dependent on markets and eventually will start to ladder some spia's for at least an income base to go with our own investing . even a single premium life policy may be in the final plan incorporating an integrated strategy for the surviving spouse . the life insurance would provide tax free money with no rmd's or effect on other things linked .
I am just curious- since if I remember correctly you have made similar comments before- at some point- would you think about just taking a huge (if not all) percentage of your money OUT of the market and just plop it in a fixed income fund so you wouldn't have to worry about the whims of the market? As we get closer and closer to retirement I don't think I can take the stress of worrying about day to day market conditions and I'm certain we could never recover from another major crash. I think we have enough. I would appreciate your take on this. (in simple terms if possible)
with rates on the rise on bonds i would not use just fixed income . fixed income alone would not meet our financial goals . since 1926 the real return after inflation on bonds is just 3% and 0 to 1% on cash instruments
with rates on the rise on bonds i would not use just fixed income . fixed income alone would not meet our financial goals . since 1926 the real return after inflation on bonds is just 3% and 0 to 1% on cash instruments
Thank you- I think we might still go to the mattresses- we'll sleep better.......
Social security is certainly very confusing as to when to take benefits and whose benefit to take!
We have a lot of time until retirement, but it doesn't hurt to plan, plan, and plan some more.
My husband is 7 years older than me. I worked for 10 years prior to being a SAHM and qualify for social security benefits. I haven't worked (except volunteer) for wages since.
My husband's benefit at age 67 (FRA) is $2,700 and age 70 is $3500. Spousal benefit (FRA) is $2600.
My benefit at age 67 is $1200.
If my husband retires at 67 - (I would be 60): would I qualify for spousal benefits at that time? Or would I only qualify for spousal benefit when I reach 62?
Also, should I ever apply for my benefit or should I apply at FRA (or earlier??) under his benefit?
Would I qualify for social security survivor benefits if he dies before retirement? Or would I have to wait until age 62 (or later) to collect on his social security? And at that time would I collect the spousal benefit of $2600?
TIA!
Some of these numbers seem off? I don't know where a spousal benefit of $2600 is coming from since the max benefit is 50% of your spouse's FRA benefit of $2700 which I assume is projected since that amount I believe is slightly higher than the current max at FRA. From what I've read the current max spousal benefit is just over $1300.
Also, you have only a 10 year work record and your benefit shows as $1200 at your FRA? Seems high but I guess it's possible.
Since you have a lot time until you retire I'm assuming you've missed the cut off for some of the claiming strategies that were phased out for couples. Meaning when you claim at age 62 or later if you choose, your only choices are your own benefit or your spousal benefit but in order to claim spousal your significant other must have filed. Otherwise your benefit is based on your own PIA until your spouse actually files. Anyway, if your own $ amount at FRA is actually $1200 and 50% of your spouse's benefit is just over $1300, you are not looking at a significant increase.
This is also a good argument for contributing the maximum. Those are fat numbers - $3500 x 1.5 x 12 is $63,000 a year. My wife and I also stand to receive $63,000 a year (actually a little more due to inflation) when I retire at 70. I realize not everyone can earn $118,500 a year - the maximum amount subject to the Social Security tax - but it won't kill ya to try.
The first post I ever made on C-D was explaining the benefit of living in a high cost of living but high salary state like NY. 401k percentages and matches and social security are based on salary. I've been a max earner for my career and am looking forward to those monthly checks.
One very small error in your calculations though. The spousal benefit is based on the higher earner's PIA at FRA. There is no additional spousal money if the primary delays until 70. So the spouse doesn't get 50% of the $3500 delayed benefit, just of the $2600 FRA benefit. Still works out to $57K annually.
In our case my wife's own benefit is higher than the spousal benefit. So it's more about maximizing the survivor benefits.
Some of these numbers seem off? I don't know where a spousal benefit of $2600 is coming from since the max benefit is 50% of your spouse's FRA benefit of $2700 which I assume is projected since that amount I believe is slightly higher than the current max at FRA. From what I've read the current max spousal benefit is just over $1300.
Also, you have only a 10 year work record and your benefit shows as $1200 at your FRA? Seems high but I guess it's possible.
Since you have a lot time until you retire I'm assuming you've missed the cut off for some of the claiming strategies that were phased out for couples. Meaning when you claim at age 62 or later if you choose, your only choices are your own benefit or your spousal benefit but in order to claim spousal your significant other must have filed. Otherwise your benefit is based on your own PIA until your spouse actually files. Anyway, if your own $ amount at FRA is actually $1200 and 50% of your spouse's benefit is just over $1300, you are not looking at a significant increase.
i took it to mean her spouse's benefit is 2600 at fra , not her spousal benefit . but you are correct the way you read it . i am assuming that is what she meant .
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