My husband was worried about this too! He's working now at 63 making more than ever before. We were confused about the indexing until we met with a financial advisor who showed us the calculation. Basically if you have any low-earning years in your 35-year calculation (like years you worked part-time or took time off), your higher earnings now will help even without being indexed.

Thank you everyone for all the helpful explanations! I feel much better about my situation now. I'm going to continue working at least until my Full Retirement Age (66 and 10 months) since my current higher earnings will replace some of my lower indexed years from when I was working minimal hours during my children's early years. I also learned a lot about how the calculation actually works from reading these responses and checking my own earnings record. It seems like the 35-year calculation with earnings indexed to age 60 is actually pretty fair overall, especially for people like me with variable work histories.

My wife and I went thru this last year. What a headache! We ended up estimating too high and got less subsidy than we shoulda. Make sure you ONLY count the SS income that's taxable for marketplace (which isnt the same as taxable for IRS). I think theres a worksheet on healthcare.gov somewhere.

One last important point: For Marketplace insurance income calculations, you need to report your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), which may include some non-taxable Social Security benefits depending on your other income. The Marketplace uses a specific calculation for Social Security benefits that differs from normal tax rules. If your income is below certain thresholds, you may not need to count all of your Social Security benefits toward your Marketplace MAGI. I recommend using the Marketplace's income calculator tool on healthcare.gov to get the most accurate estimate for your specific situation.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I now understand that my husband won't get any additional amount since his benefit is already more than half of mine. I appreciate the clarification about survivor benefits too - that's something we hadn't considered in our planning. I'm going to talk with him about whether it might make sense for him to delay claiming even past his FRA since his benefit would continue to grow. Does anyone know if the spousal benefit calculations change if he waits until 70?

my sister in law was in this same boat. her husbands check was like $700 less than hers and he didnt get any extra. but then when she needed to go on medicare it took a bigger chunk out of her check cause she was in a higher income bracket. so theres other stuff to think about too with the higher benefit sometimes.

I think ppl r missing something.... if her benefit is $1750 and half of your FRA is $1650, then she gets ZERO spousal benefit. It's not that she gets both - she just gets the higher one. Since her own is higher, she just gets her own. No extra.

One last important point: Make sure you both have continuous earnings records with Social Security. If either of you has years with zero or low earnings, working a bit longer could potentially increase your benefit amounts by replacing those lower-earning years in the calculation. SSA uses your highest 35 years of earnings (indexed for inflation) to calculate benefits. This might be particularly relevant for your wife if she had years out of the workforce.

My mother in law got TOTALLY screwed by SS on this exact thing!!! She retired in March and started benefits in April but did some part time work in October. They counted ALL her income for the year and reduced her benefits AND made her pay back money!!! The system is rigged against us seniors!!!!

btw when does ur husband reach full retirement age? cuz the earnings limit goes way up in the year he reaches FRA and then goes away completely the month he hits FRA

Wait u can get ur own SS and spousal?? My brother in law said u can only get one or the other not both

I'm getting so confused by all the different rules! Let me see if I understand correctly: 1. My husband can apply for spousal benefits based on my SSDI 2. He'll get either that OR his own benefit (whichever is higher) 3. If he claims at 63, he gets a reduced amount 4. If he's earning too much, they'll take some back So is there ANY advantage to him claiming early? Or should he just wait until his Full Retirement Age? His health isn't great either, so we're worried about waiting too long...

For the death certificate, they usually want to see the original but they'll make a copy and give it back to you. At least that's what happened when my sister applied for survivor benefits. And yes, having his Social Security number would definitely help speed things up when you contact them, but if you don't have it, they should be able to find his record with enough other information.

One more important thing to consider: If you're working and planning to apply for survivor benefits at 60, be aware of the earnings test. In 2025, if you earn more than $23,000 (approximate figure), SSA will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that limit until you reach your Full Retirement Age. This earnings test can significantly reduce or eliminate your survivor benefits if you have substantial income. However, once you reach FRA, the earnings test no longer applies, and you can earn any amount without reduction in benefits.

One more thing your sister should be aware of - if her husband is also receiving Social Security benefits, she might be entitled to spousal benefits if they would be higher than her own. This gets complicated during separation/divorce, but generally: 1. If they've been married for at least 10 years and she's at least 62, she could claim benefits on his record even after divorce 2. The amount would be up to 50% of his full retirement amount 3. This doesn't reduce his benefits at all She should ask a Social Security representative about this when discussing her situation. Sometimes the financial picture is more complex than just protecting her current benefits.

tell her to watch out for ELDER ABUSE too!!! financial threats against seniors is considered elder abuse in texas!!! if hes threatening her ss money she could report him!

The break-even point is indeed important to consider. It's typically around age 78-82 for most people comparing early filing vs. FRA. If you believe you'll live beyond that age, waiting until FRA will result in more total benefits over your lifetime. If you have health concerns or family history suggesting a shorter lifespan, filing early might actually maximize your lifetime benefits.The calculation is more complex when comparing divorced spouse benefits to your own record, but the same principle applies. You'd need to calculate the total benefits received over time under each scenario to find your personal break-even point.

This is really helpful. My health is good and my parents both lived well into their 90s, so longevity runs in my family. That probably tips the scales toward waiting for FRA in my case.

my neighbor had this same issue she was born in 1957... she said what helped her was making an actual appointment at the local ssa office instead of calling. the wait times on the phone are insane but they were able to run the numbers for both scenarios when she went in person. turns out her own benefit was higher anyway so the rule change didnt matter much for her situation

Thank you everyone for all the great information! I'm still disappointed that I can't use the restricted application strategy, but at least I understand the rules now. I'm going to try to get an appointment with SSA to review both my record and my ex's to see which benefit will be higher and when I should claim. And I'll definitely try that Claimyr service to get through on the phone - anything to avoid those ridiculous wait times! I'll update this thread once I have more information in case it helps someone else in my situation.