One additional point that hasn't been mentioned: If your husband continues working while collecting Social Security, his benefit amount may actually increase over time. SSA recalculates benefits annually to account for additional earnings that might increase his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). It's automatic - no action needed on your part. This happens because Social Security uses the highest 35 years of indexed earnings to calculate benefits. If his current earnings are higher than some of those earlier years (after indexing for inflation), his benefit could increase slightly.

we got a letter from ssa about the taxes thing. u can choose to have federal taxes withheld from ur ss payments if u want. i think its 7%, 10%, 12% or 22% options. might be easier than messing with his work withholding

My friend had her info given to an ex and she got a lawyer who threatened to sue SSA for the privacy violation!!! They ended up settling with her but I don't know the details. Maybe worth talking to a lawyer????

NOT DEFENDING THEM but just so everyone knows - when you file for a spousal benefit based on an ex's record, that benefit COMES FROM their earnings record. So while they shouldn't be sharing your contact info AT ALL (that's 100% wrong), they do sometimes have to acknowledge that someone is collecting on the record when the primary beneficiary files. BUT GIVING OUT PHONE NUMBERS AND ADDRESSES IS NEVER OK!!!!!!

my friend said she just waited til 70 no filing or suspending or nothing just applied when she was 70 and got the bigger amount automatically

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I'm going to just wait until 70 to file since that seems to be the consensus. With my family history of longevity and the potential survivor benefits for my wife, the 24% increase seems worth waiting for. Plus I'm still working and can afford to wait. Really appreciate all the insights!

One important additional point: if your ex-wife's benefit amount would potentially be higher than yours, you might want to make the effort to provide SSA with as much information as possible about her. As a divorced spouse (married >10 years), you're entitled to up to 50% of her PIA if that amount exceeds your own benefit, without affecting her benefits in any way. The difference could be substantial depending on your respective earnings histories. For example, if your monthly benefit would be $1,800 but 50% of hers would be $2,200, you'd be leaving $400 monthly on the table by not pursuing the ex-spousal benefit. SSA can usually locate her record with full name, approximate DOB, and marriage dates, but the process is more efficient with an SSN. Consider whether this potential benefit difference justifies additional effort to obtain her information.

After seeing all these responses about people struggling to reach someone at Social Security, I wanted to follow up. When I used Claimyr (claimyr.com), I spoke with an agent who explained that for ex-spouse benefits, they really just need the name and date of birth - the SSN makes their job easier but isn't strictly required. The agent can input notes in your file explaining the situation. That's what worked for me when I couldn't provide my ex's information.

After reading through all the comments, I'd suggest creating a simple spreadsheet with three scenarios: claiming at 62, at your FRA of 67, and somewhere in between. Plot the cumulative benefits over time and see where the lines cross - those are your break-even points.\n\nBut remember this isn't just math - it's about your quality of life too. Some questions to ask yourself:\n- Do you enjoy your work enough to continue until FRA?\n- What would you do with the money if you claimed early?\n- How would your stress level change with different benefit amounts?\n- Do you have other pension income or predictable streams?\n\nPersonally, I've noticed people rarely regret waiting for larger benefits, but often regret claiming early once they reach their 80s and realize how much higher their monthly check could have been.

Thanks for this thoughtful advice. I think I'll create that spreadsheet to visualize the scenarios better. The quality of life considerations are important too - I don't love my job but don't hate it either. I think I'm leaning toward a middle path, maybe claiming around 65. That gives me some early retirement years but doesn't reduce the benefit quite as drastically as claiming at 62.

One additional point that hasn't been mentioned: If your SSDI benefit amount is substantially higher than your reduced retirement benefit, taking early retirement might still make financial sense despite the permanent reduction at FRA. For example, if you need the income now and your SSDI would be $500 more per month than your reduced retirement, you might come out ahead even with the permanent reduction later. It's essentially a cash-flow decision based on your current needs versus long-term maximum benefit. This is why speaking with an SSA representative about your specific numbers is so important.

Thank you everyone for all this information. I had no idea about this permanent reduction rule. I'm going to try to speak with someone at SSA to get specific numbers for my case before deciding. Based on what everyone's saying, it sounds like I need to weigh immediate financial needs against the long-term reduction. Really appreciate all the insights!

Quick question: does anyone know if you need to change your name with Social Security before or after changing it on your driver's license? I'm getting conflicting info online.

PSA: If you're changing your name, don't forget to update your voter registration too! It's easy to overlook but important for avoiding issues at the polls.

Quick question - does anyone know if you need to change your name with the DMV first, or can you do Social Security first? I'm getting conflicting info online.

Protip: If you're changing your name cuz of marriage, do it ASAP after the wedding. I waited like a year and it was such a pain to track down all the docs I needed 😫

PSA: If you're changing your name, don't forget to update it EVERYWHERE. I'm talking bank accounts, credit cards, voter registration, driver's license, passport, work HR, doctor's offices... the list goes on. It's a pain but worth doing all at once.

Quick question - does anyone know if they're still requiring appointments, or can you just walk in now? The SSA website is super vague about it.

have u tried emailing them? sometimes thats faster than calling

Lmao good luck. I've been trying to set up an appointment for weeks. At this point I'm convinced their customer service is run by clowns 🤡