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Thank you all SO much for these detailed explanations. This makes much more sense now. I'm going to call SSA again and specifically request a comparison between my survivor benefit at FRA and my own benefit projected to age 70. I'll make sure to ask for someone in the survivor benefits department too. It sounds like my best approach is to: 1. Take survivor benefits at my FRA (Feb 2025) 2. Let my own benefit grow until 70 3. Switch to my own benefit at 70 *only if* it exceeds the survivor benefit I feel so much more confident now! I'll update when I get the actual numbers from SSA.
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my mom got confused about this too ended up leaving like $20k on the table over the yrs cause nobody explaind it right
OK, now I think I understand all this correctly. To summarize: 1. I'll get my own benefit ($1,400) plus a top-off to reach half of my husband's FRA benefit ($1,600 total). 2. The $1,911 figure is irrelevant to my situation. 3. My husband must file for his benefits before I can claim any spousal benefits. 4. If I claim before my FRA, both parts of my benefit get reduced. 5. The spousal benefit is based on my husband's FRA amount, not his actual payment if he delays. Did I get all this right? I feel so much more prepared for my SSA appointment now!
You've got it exactly right! Print out this summary and take it to your appointment. One last tip: when you do apply, specifically mention that you're applying for "all benefits you're eligible for" including retirement and spousal benefits. Sometimes if you don't explicitly mention both, they might not process the spousal portion right away, which can delay your full payment.
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Has anyone mentioned yet that you should check if you're eligible for the lump-sum death benefit? It's only $255 but hey, money is money! Though after 12 years they might say it's too late for that particular benefit.
Unfortunately, the $255 death payment must be applied for within two years of death in most cases, so that's likely not available anymore. But definitely worth asking about when speaking with SSA just in case there are exceptions!
Thanks everyone for all the helpful advice! I'm going to try to contact SSA directly to discuss my specific situation. Sounds like I should probably wait until I'm either closer to 60 or possibly even until my full retirement age given my current income. I appreciate all the information about the different options and considerations - this is way more complicated than I thought it would be!
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ANYONE else notice how IMPOSSIBLE it is to get correct information from SSA these days?!?! I swear every rep tells you something different! My neighbor filed last year and got told THREE different things about how her pension would affect her SS benefit! The whole system is a mess!!
The WEP and GPO rules regarding pensions are exceptionally complicated, so I'm not surprised your neighbor got inconsistent information. Those provisions (Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset) have very complex calculations that many SSA representatives struggle with. Always best to get information in writing or speak with a technical expert at SSA for those situations.
to answer that other persons question YES u can wait to take survivor benefits even if already getting ur own. my sister was getting her own SS when her husband died last year and the SS person told her she could wait til her FRA to switch to survivors to get the full amount. shes 63 now and waiting til 67 to switch
That's correct. This is one of the few remaining planning opportunities after the 2015 law changes. You can choose when to take survivor benefits independent of your retirement benefits. So in the original poster's case, she could take reduced retirement benefits now, and if her husband passed away, she could either: 1. Switch to survivor benefits immediately (at a reduction if before FRA) 2. Wait until FRA to switch to full survivor benefits The best choice depends on the benefit amounts and her financial needs at that time.
Tate Jensen
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.
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Collins Angel
•That's a really important point I hadn't considered. So my decision to delay to 70 protects him in case I pass away first. That definitely makes me feel better about my decision to wait. Thank you for pointing that out!
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Gabriel Ruiz
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.
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Collins Angel
•That's very true. We're fortunate that I have a decent pension that covers our basic expenses, but we're hoping to do some traveling while we're still healthy enough to enjoy it. We might need to reassess our budget and see if we can manage with him waiting until his FRA. It's all about trade-offs!
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