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One additional point to consider: if you do decide to take benefits early, make sure to submit your application about 3 months before you want benefits to begin. The application process can sometimes take longer than expected, especially during busy periods. Given your specific circumstances with a relatively small reduction and only being a few months before FRA, this seems like a reasonable case for early claiming. The decision is very personal and depends on your overall financial picture, but preserving emergency savings has significant value.
Great advice about the 3-month lead time - I'll definitely keep that in mind. Based on everyone's feedback, I'm leaning toward filing a bit early. The peace of mind from keeping my emergency fund intact seems worth the small reduction.
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the lady at my SSA office told me that college students can get benefits till age 19 if fulltime student!! but sounds like for special needs kids it can go longer with the DAC thing everyone is talking about. good luck!!
thats only for non-disabled kids, and its only to finish high school not college! They changed the rules years ago so college students dont get extended benefits anymore unless they qualify under disability rules. Really stinks because college is so expensive
what about the max family benefit thing? isn't there a limit on how much one family can get from one worker's record? might be something to check into
Good point about the Family Maximum Benefit! This caps the total amount that can be paid on one worker's earnings record. It typically ranges from 150% to 180% of the deceased worker's benefit amount. In this case, since it sounds like only the son is currently receiving benefits on the father's record, they're probably well under the family maximum. If the mother were to eventually qualify for widow's benefits (if her current marriage ends), then the family maximum might come into play.
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Another important factor to consider is that when you take your own retirement benefit early at 62, it's permanently reduced. But if you take survivor benefits early and then switch to your own later, your own benefit continues to grow until you claim it (up to age 70). Also, while the earnings limit for 2024 is $21,240 for people under FRA, you might want to plan for the 2025 amount which will likely be a bit higher after the COLA adjustment. Remember that for every $2 you earn above the limit, they withhold $1 in benefits.
That's a really good point about my own benefit continuing to grow if I take survivor benefits first. I'll be careful about the earnings limit. My part-time job should keep me under $20,000 annually, so hopefully I'll be safe even with COLA adjustments.
I recommend writing down all your questions before contacting SSA. They can calculate your survivor benefit amount at different ages (61, 62, FRA) and your own retirement benefit at different ages (62, FRA, 70). Once you have those numbers, you can see which claiming strategy maximizes your lifetime benefits. After my spouse died, I finally got through to SSA after trying for weeks. The rep ran all the numbers for me, and in my case, taking my own reduced benefit at 62 and switching to survivors at my FRA resulted in about $50,000 more in lifetime benefits compared to taking survivors early. Everyone's situation is different though.
Thank you - that's a really smart approach to write everything down first. $50,000 is a significant difference in lifetime benefits! I'll definitely ask them to calculate the long-term impact of different strategies. I appreciate you sharing your experience.
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its a conspiracy they dont want us to get our benefits thats why they hide our earnings
This is simply untrue. There's a processing delay because millions of W-2s need to be received, verified, and entered into the system. The SSA has a well-established process for handling earnings reports that has nothing to do with trying to deny benefits.
by the way my brother had this happen last year and his still didnt show up in april so he had to call them. turns out his employer messed up his ssn on the forms! check with your hr department first if u still dont see it in april
Thanks for sharing that - definitely a good reminder to follow up if things don't update properly!
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I think its dumb that they even have a limit. We paid into this our whole lives and then they dont let us work?? Makes no sense!!
It does seem counterproductive. They want seniors to stay active but then penalize us if we work too much before FRA. At least the limit goes away completely once you reach full retirement age.
Thank you all for the incredibly helpful information! I've taken notes on everything: - We'll use the monthly earnings test for 2025 - Request this specifically when applying - His $50k from Jan-May won't count as long as he stays under the monthly limit after starting benefits - Make sure he doesn't exceed the monthly limit even once or they'll switch to annual test - Keep documentation of his retirement This is such a relief - we were worried we'd lose thousands in benefits. I'll update after we apply to let everyone know how it goes!
Smart planning! One more tip: when your husband applies, get the name and direct extension of the claims representative who handles his application. This makes follow-up much easier if there are any issues with how the monthly earnings test is applied.
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Does anyone know if you need your ex's permission to claim on their record? My ex would HATE knowing I'm getting benefits from his record and might try to block it somehow.
No, your ex has no say in the matter, and SSA doesn't even notify them when you file for divorced spouse benefits. Your ex's own benefit amount is not affected at all by you claiming on their record.
After reading all the comments, here's my advice for your situation: 1. Create a my Social Security account online if you haven't already 2. Schedule an appointment with SSA to get estimates of both your retirement benefit AND your ex-spouse benefit (both at 62 and at FRA) 3. Consider your current and future income needs 4. Consider your life expectancy (longer life = advantage to waiting) 5. Consider whether you'll continue working (earnings test) Most financial experts recommend waiting until at least FRA if you can afford to, especially for women who typically live longer. The permanent reduction from filing early can really add up over a 20+ year retirement.
Thank you for this detailed advice. I've created my SSA account but can only see my own benefit estimates. I'm going to try to get an appointment to discuss the ex-spouse benefits. I appreciate everyone's help with this complicated decision!
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wait i just realized my situation isnt the same as yours cause my wife gets SSI not SSDI sorry bout that! but i still think taking it early makes sense with what ur saying
Just to clarify for anyone reading this thread: SSI (Supplemental Security Income) and SSDI (Social Security Disability Insurance) have different rules regarding survivor benefits. SSI is needs-based and doesn't generate survivor benefits, while SSDI is based on work credits and does provide survivor benefits. This is why it's so important to understand which benefit type you're dealing with when making these decisions.
My friend said she called and the SS people told her she should ALWAYS wait until FRA if possible. Are you SURE this is the right move?
There's no one-size-fits-all answer with Social Security. While waiting until FRA maximizes that particular benefit, personal circumstances matter enormously. In the original poster's case, with a spouse on SSDI, limited working years, and the option to switch to survivor benefits later, taking reduced benefits at 62 may align with their specific financial situation and goals. This is why personalized analysis is so important rather than general rules of thumb.
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Something else to consider in your planning: if you're both still working, make sure you understand how the earnings test might affect benefits claimed before FRA. In 2025, if you earn more than $22,750 (estimated based on current limits), Social Security will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that threshold if you're under FRA. This doesn't apply once you reach your FRA.
Thank you for bringing this up! My husband might do some consulting work after we "retire," so we'll need to factor in the earnings test. Do you know if benefits withheld because of the earnings test are permanently lost or if they're added back somehow after reaching FRA?
Good question about the earnings test! Benefits withheld due to the earnings test are NOT permanently lost. Once you reach FRA, Social Security recalculates your benefit amount to credit you for months when benefits were withheld. Your monthly benefit amount increases to account for those months you didn't receive benefits.
That's a relief! So many nuances to understand with Social Security. I appreciate everyone's insights - you've given us several approaches to consider. I think we'll need to run some numbers based on our specific financial situation and life expectancies to determine our optimal strategy.
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When I was in your exact situation back in 2022, I found the Retirement Income Calculator on the SSA website to be extremely helpful. It showed me all the different scenarios and how my monthly payment would change based on when I filed. Since you're self-employed, have you also considered how your retirement decision impacts your business? Will you continue working the same amount or scale back? Do you plan to sell your business eventually? In my case, I decided to take benefits at my FRA (66+4 months) because I was planning to scale back my consulting work over the next few years anyway. I didn't want to completely stop working, but I wanted to be more selective about projects. Three years later, I'm glad I made that choice. The monthly payments have allowed me to be pickier about which clients I take on, and I've actually enjoyed my work more as a result.
That's a great perspective! I've been using the SSA calculators, but hadn't really thought about how the decision impacts my approach to work. I've been considering scaling back over the next 5 years (I'm a marketing consultant), but haven't made concrete plans. Maybe having those Social Security payments would give me the flexibility to turn down less interesting projects and focus on work I actually enjoy. That's a quality-of-life factor I hadn't considered in my financial calculations. Thanks for sharing your experience!
do you get more money if you start benefits on your birthday month or does it not matter what month you start?
The month doesn't matter in terms of the calculation. Your benefit amount increases by 2/3 of 1% for each month you delay after FRA (which works out to 8% per year). So whether you apply in your birth month or any other month, you'll get credit for the exact number of months you've delayed. However, benefits are paid in the month following the month they're due for. So if you want your first payment to arrive in a specific month, you should apply one month earlier. Also remember that SSA pays benefits based on your age on the LAST day of the month, except for those born on the 1st of the month.
Ravi Choudhury
Thank you all for the helpful responses! I'm feeling much more confident now. Here's my plan based on everyone's advice: 1. Check my detailed earnings record on mySocialSecurity 2. Request IRS transcripts for any questionable years 3. Start my application process now since I'm turning 70 soon 4. Mention my concerns about the earnings record when I apply 5. Focus only on correcting years that would be in my top 35 I'll report back once I've gone through the earnings history. Fingers crossed there aren't any major issues!
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Freya Andersen
•That sounds like a perfect plan! One more tip: When you look at your earnings record on mySocialSecurity, there's a way to download the entire history as a PDF. Do that and take your time reviewing it. Sometimes seeing it all in one document makes it easier to spot unusual patterns or missing years. Good luck!
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CosmicCadet
Good luck! And don't forget to decide about Medicare too if you haven't already! That's a whole other thing to worry about lol
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Ravi Choudhury
•Oh thanks for the reminder! I'm already on Medicare since I signed up at 65, but I should check if there's anything that needs updating when I start receiving Social Security.
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