Based on what you've shared, here's what I recommend: 1. First, verify your husband's claiming history by contacting SSA (whether through regular channels or using a service to help you get through) 2. Ask specifically about: - When your husband began collecting benefits - What his PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) was - How the RIB-LIM rule affects your specific situation 3. Request a benefit calculation for these scenarios: - Taking your survivor benefits now (reduced amount) - Taking your own retirement benefit now, then switching to survivor benefits at your FRA Once you have these specific numbers, you can make an informed decision. The difference could potentially be thousands of dollars over your lifetime, so it's worth doing this research.

I went through this exact situation 3 years ago when I was 64. The misinformation is unfortunately very common - even some SSA representatives don't always have the details right. Here's what I learned the hard way: survivor benefits ARE reduced if you take them before your FRA, period. The reduction is permanent too, so you can't "undo" it later. What saved me financially was doing exactly what Justin suggested - I took my own smaller retirement benefit at 64, then switched to the full survivor benefit when I hit my FRA at 66. This gave me income for those 2 years while preserving the higher survivor benefit amount. The key is getting YOUR specific numbers from SSA because everyone's situation is different based on earnings history and when benefits were claimed. Don't rely on general advice (including mine!) - get your actual benefit estimates in writing before deciding.

Quick question - does anyone know if changing your direct deposit info affects your payment date? I rely on getting paid on a specific day each month.

I updated mine about 6 months ago and it was actually pretty straightforward! Here's what worked for me: - Do it online through my Social Security if possible - way faster than calling - Have all your banking info written down beforehand (routing number, account number, bank name) - Log in during off-peak hours (early morning or late evening) to avoid website issues - Take a screenshot of the confirmation page once you submit - Keep checking your account for the next few payments to make sure everything went through correctly The whole process took me maybe 10 minutes online, and my next payment went to the new account without any issues. Don't stress too much about it - they deal with these requests all the time! Just double-check all your numbers before hitting submit.

This is exactly why I always tell people to check their online account after the New Year! The Medicare premium increases can really catch people off guard. What's frustrating is that sometimes the Medicare Part D premiums vary by plan, so even people with the same Social Security benefit can see different net increases depending on which drug plan they chose during open enrollment. I've been getting Social Security for about 8 years now and I still have to remind myself every January that my COLA isn't just a simple percentage calculation - there are always other moving pieces. At least now with the online portal it's much easier to see the breakdown than it used to be when we had to wait for paper statements!

As someone who's been helping family members navigate Social Security for years, I want to add one more thing that might help others understand their payments better. If you have taxes withheld from your Social Security benefits (federal or state), those withholding amounts can also change from year to year, which adds another layer to why your net increase might be different than expected. The IRS adjusts tax withholding tables periodically, and sometimes people forget they elected to have taxes taken out when they first started receiving benefits. So even after accounting for the Medicare premium increases, you might still see a difference if your tax withholding changed. The key is really that online mySocialSecurity account - it breaks down everything line by line so you can see your gross benefit, COLA increase, Medicare premiums, tax withholding, and any other deductions. It's honestly the best tool they've given us to understand our payments!

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.

I'm glad this discussion has been so helpful! As someone who just went through this exact decision process last year, I wanted to add one more perspective. I ended up creating what I called a "regret minimization" framework instead of just focusing on break-even math. I asked myself: "Which choice would I regret LEAST if things don't go as planned?" For me, that was waiting until 66 (one year before my FRA). Here's why: if I live a long life, I'm not leaving too much on the table compared to waiting until 67. But if something happens to me earlier, I still got several years of benefits I wouldn't have had by waiting the full time. It felt like the sweet spot between the two extremes. The peace of mind from having that guaranteed monthly income bump was worth more to me than the mathematical optimization. Sometimes the "good enough" decision that you can sleep well with is better than the theoretically perfect one that keeps you up at night worrying!

dont 4get that if u get benefits reduced cuz of working, they recalculate ur benefit when u hit FRA and give u credit for those months. so its not completely lost money, just delayed

As someone new to this community, I want to thank everyone for sharing such detailed experiences! This thread has been incredibly helpful. I'm in a similar situation planning retirement next year and had no idea about the "grace year" rule or how specific you need to be about your first month of entitlement. One question I have after reading all this - when you apply online through SSA.gov, does it clearly ask you to specify your first month of entitlement? Or is this something you need to call about? I'm worried about making the same mistakes some of you mentioned where SSA starts benefits earlier than intended. Also, has anyone tried the retroactive benefits option where they can pay you up to 6 months back? I'm wondering if that creates earnings test complications too.