One more crucial point that hasn't been mentioned: If you do decide to take early retirement while waiting for a disability decision, make absolutely sure you still attend your disability hearing if one is scheduled. Some people mistakenly think that once they start receiving retirement benefits, their disability case is closed. It's not! You need to follow through with the disability process to completion. If you don't show up for your hearing, your disability case will be dismissed, and you'll be permanently stuck with the reduced retirement benefit. Also, keep in mind that SSDI appeals at the hearing level are currently taking 12-18 months in most areas. So if you're already at the appeal stage, you might want to factor that timeline into your decision.

Just wanted to add something about the spousal benefit option you mentioned. Based on my experience, the spousal benefit at age 62 would be significantly reduced - approximately 30-35% of your wife's PIA instead of the full 50% you'd get at your full retirement age. When I was trying to decide, I found that my own early retirement benefit was actually higher than the reduced spousal benefit I qualified for through my husband. It's worth checking both calculations. SSA will actually give you the higher of the two amounts automatically when you apply. Another thing to consider - if your disability is approved and your established onset date is before age 62, you might be eligible for more backpay than you realize. Mine went back almost 2 years before I applied for early retirement.

BE CAREFUL!!!! My brother-in-law got hit with a HUGE overpayment bill because he misunderstood how this works! Make sure you report your earnings to SSA right away when you start benefits. They don't find out about your earnings until tax time the NEXT YEAR and by then you could owe thousands back if you went over the limit!!

Just to add - when you do hit the earnings limit, they don't take away your entire benefit. They withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above the limit. So if you go over by $1,000 in a month, they'd withhold $500 in benefits.

You don't need to delay your application. If you apply for benefits to start at your FRA in August 2025, your 2024 earnings will definitely be included in your initial benefit calculation. Your earnings from 2024 should be posted to your record by mid-2025, well before your benefits would start. If for some reason they weren't included initially, SSA would automatically recalculate and adjust your benefit retroactively once those earnings are posted.

My uncles neighbor kept working til he was 70 and his ss check went up by almost $1000 a month from his first estimate at 62!!!! they say wait if u can afford too

congrats on having a good 401k! thats amazing these days

One additional factor to consider: If you wait until December 2025, you'll also be positioned better for any Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) that takes effect in January 2026. The COLA will apply to your higher base amount, further increasing the long-term advantage of waiting that extra month. With inflation patterns the way they've been, even a modest 2-3% COLA would add meaningful additional benefits over time.

my mother in law got widow benefits and she says they look at what age ur husband was when he started getting SS. if he took it early they base widow benefits on that reduced amount. but if he waited til 70 like my father in law did she gets the bigger amount he was getting when he died. did ur husband take SS at his full retirement age or early or late?

Just to wrap things up for you: 1. You can take your own retirement at 63 (reduced amount) 2. If your husband passes away, you can switch to survivor benefits 3. Those survivor benefits would be based on what your husband was receiving (which is slightly reduced since he filed at 64.5) 4. BUT, your survivor benefit would also be reduced if you take it before your FRA (67) 5. If you wait until your FRA to take survivor benefits, you'd get 100% of what your husband was receiving The key is to look at both benefits as separate decisions. The optimal strategy usually involves taking the smaller benefit first and the larger one later. In most cases, waiting until FRA for survivor benefits makes financial sense if you can afford to do so.

i stil think this is so unfair!!! you worked all those years serving the public and now you get PUNISHED for it. and they wonder why people don't trust the government!!!

I want to thank everyone for their insights. I'm going to go ahead and apply now, even though it looks like I might not get anything after the GPO reduction with my CSRS pension. At least I'll know for sure, and there's always the small chance there might be some special circumstance I'm not aware of that could result in a small benefit. Since there's no advantage to waiting longer, I might as well get an official determination.

when i went thru this i had to ask for a REVIEW of my file not just talk to the phone people cuz they kept getting it wrong

My situation was kinda similar but I was the younger spouse. The key thing is that your benefit at 62 is permanently reduced, but that doesn't prevent you from getting the difference if the spousal benefit would be higher. But if your own benefit is already higher than 50% of his, then there's no extra money to be had. The 35-year marriage definitely qualifies you though - the 10 year rule is only for divorced spouses.

Make absolutely sure you apply specifically for the survivor benefit and not retirement benefits. They're different applications! I've heard stories of people accidentally applying for their own retirement instead of survivor benefits and it caused all kinds of problems. When you get your appointment, be very clear you're applying for survivor/widow benefits based on your husband's record.

Thank you all so much for the helpful information! I've made an appointment at my local SSA office for next week, and I'm gathering all the documents that were suggested. I'm going to explore that strategy of taking survivor benefits now and then possibly switching to my own later - that might work best for my situation. If I have trouble getting through to check on my application status after I apply, I might try that Claimyr service mentioned above. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and advice!

What was your husband's FRA, and had he already filed for benefits before passing away? This could affect your survivor benefit amount. Also, have you checked if you'd qualify for the Lump Sum Death Payment of $255? It's not much but it's something many people don't know to claim.

make sure you know how much ur getting!!! i thought id be getting 2600/mo on my husbands record but it was actually only 2165 because of some weird calculation about his benefit and my earnings?? big shock when that first payment came in! definitely ask them to calculate the exact amount before you decide

wait I just remembered something important!!! if ur turning 62 soon make sure u understand deemed filing!!! the rules changed after 2015 and now if u file for ANY benefit they automatically make u file for ALL benefits ur eligible for! so u cant do that strategy where u take spousal first then switch to ur own later like people used to do!!

If your husband is 64 and receiving survivor benefits, and you're turning 62, you might want to consider a 2-step strategy that could maximize your household benefits over time: 1) You file for your reduced retirement benefit at 62 (accepting the reduction) 2) When your husband reaches 70, he switches to his own retirement benefit (maximized with delayed credits) which then triggers your eligibility for potentially higher spousal benefits While you'd have a permanent reduction on your own benefit from filing early, the years of receiving some benefit (rather than nothing) plus the eventual higher spousal amount might work out better financially depending on your specific benefit amounts and life expectancy. I'd recommend sitting down with a financial planner who specializes in Social Security claiming strategies to review all your options with actual numbers.