As others have mentioned, your husband might be eligible for a spousal supplement if 50% of your PIA exceeds his own PIA. One more thing to consider—has your husband checked his earnings record on ssa.gov to make sure all his work years are correctly recorded? It's not uncommon to find errors, especially for jobs from many years ago. If he has 35+ years of work history, also consider whether his current earnings might be higher than some earlier years. Working even just a few more months could potentially increase his benefit if he's replacing a lower-earning year in his top 35.

I wish I could get a straight answer from SSA!!! Their website says one thing, the phone people say another, and then when you go to the office they tell you something completely different! No wonder we're all confused about what benefits we can get. The whole system needs to be simplified!!!

your not wasting time i think u should go to appointment because the people in person are nicer then the phone people

One additional thing to keep in mind - and something that confused me greatly during my own widow planning - is that you'll eventually need to decide between your own retirement benefit and your survivor benefit. You can take one first and switch to the other later if it's higher. This can be a complex but beneficial strategy. For example: 1. Take reduced survivor benefits at 60 2. Switch to your own retirement benefit at 70 (if it's higher by then) OR 1. Take your own retirement benefit at 62 2. Switch to survivors at your FRA for the maximum survivor amount This is exactly why you need those estimates now - to figure out which strategy works best for your situation. Make sure to specifically ask about these switching strategies during your appointment.

One more important consideration: Remember that Social Security benefits are calculated based on your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. If you don't have 35 years of SS-covered employment, the formula fills in zeros for the missing years. If you work 3 more years in SS-covered employment at $69,000, you'd be replacing 3 zeros (or very low earning years) in your calculation. That's why you're seeing such a significant jump in your estimated benefit (from $713 to $1,001). Have you requested your Social Security earnings record? That would show exactly which years would be replaced and might help with your decision. You can view this online if you have a mySocialSecurity account.

You're overthinking this way too much. If you don't need the money, do what makes you HAPPY. Period. End of story. No more analysis needed!

After reading through all your responses, it sounds like filing now might align with your needs, especially since you're already drawing from savings. One last thing to check - have you created a my Social Security account online? It will show you precise benefit estimates at different ages based on your actual earnings record. Sometimes the estimates people work with aren't accurate.

WATCH OUT for taxes!!!! Many people don't realize that up to 85% of your SS benefits can be taxable depending on your other income. Make sure you understand how this works or you might get a nasty surprise next April!!

One additional consideration for your planning: While your husband's spousal benefit would be reduced if he files early, his survivor benefit (if you were to pass away) would NOT be affected by his decision to take his own benefit early. As a survivor, he could receive up to 100% of whatever benefit amount you were receiving at death (including your delayed retirement credits to age 70). This is an important distinction because it might influence your decision-making. If maximizing his potential survivor benefit is important, your plan to delay until 70 is excellent because it maximizes that potential survivor benefit, regardless of when he takes his own retirement benefit.

One more thing to think about - how long can you guys go without him filing? If money's tight and you NEED the income at 64, sometmes you just gotta take what you can get. No point suffering for years just to get a bit more later. Gotta balance the math with real life needs.