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My friend's situation was kinda similar and I think there was a surprise with how much she got so def have your husband ask very specific questions during his phone appt! Good luck
Just to clarify one more point that sometimes confuses people: The decision about when to file is separate for each of you. You've already filed, but your husband still has options. If your husband files at 62, he gets approximately 70% of his FRA benefit (the $749). If he waits until FRA, he gets 100% of his FRA benefit (probably around $1070). If he waits until 70, he gets 132% of his FRA benefit (around $1412). The spousal benefit doesn't increase after FRA, so there's no spousal advantage to waiting beyond FRA. But his own benefit continues to grow until 70. Since his own benefit is already higher than the reduced spousal benefit, waiting longer would just increase that gap.
Something else to consider - has your sister checked her own Social Security record lately??? My friend thought her benefit would be really small because of her government job, but when she actually checked her SS statement online, it was higher than she expected because of all the years she paid in. Your sister should create a my Social Security account on ssa.gov if she hasn't already!!! That way she'll know her own benefit amount before even talking to anyone.
Excellent suggestion. Creating a my Social Security account at ssa.gov is essential for anyone approaching retirement age. The benefit estimates shown there will help your sister make a more informed decision. However, one caution - the online estimates don't always correctly account for things like WEP/GPO reductions. They give a good starting point, but the final calculation should be confirmed with an SSA representative who can properly apply any applicable reductions.
i think everyones overthinking this lol. just have her apply and see what they say. my aunt got dinged with gpo and still got like $400 a month from my uncles record. anything is better than nothing right?
my mom has the same problem (shes from philippines originally) no payment yet. but my uncle got his (hes citizen) so i was thinking maybe its for immigrants only? glad to hear its not that. still nothing in her account today tho
It's definitely not targeting immigrants. The SSA payment system doesn't filter based on citizenship once benefits are approved. It's more likely your mom and uncle are simply in different payment processing batches, and your mom's batch was affected by the technical issue while your uncle's wasn't.
UPDATE: My payment just posted this morning! So it was about 48 hours late. Check your accounts - hopefully your husband's payment has arrived too!
A lot of misinformation in this thread. The spousal benefit isn't always 50%. That's just the maximum. The actual formula is more complicated and takes into account whether you're eligible for your own retirement benefit, when you file, and whether the WEP/GPO rules apply. Calling SSA directly is your best bet. Ask them for a breakdown of your benefit calculation. They can tell you exactly how your benefit was determined and whether there are any options to increase it. You might need to speak with a technical benefits advisor though, not just the first person who answers the phone.
One more thing to consider - if your husband passes away, you would become eligible for survivor benefits, which can be up to 100% of what he was receiving (depending on your age when you claim them). So while your current spousal benefit might seem low, the survivor benefit would be significantly higher. If your husband is in good health, you might want to discuss having him delay taking his own benefits as long as possible (up to age 70) to maximize the eventual survivor benefit you'd receive if he passes before you. Each year he delays past his FRA increases his benefit by 8%, which also increases the survivor benefit you'd eventually receive.
That's actually very helpful information about survivor benefits. He's already collecting, but knowing that I could get up to 100% of his benefit as a survivor benefit gives me some peace of mind for the future. It's frustrating how complicated all these rules are - I wish the SSA made this clearer when we were deciding when to file.
Astrid Bergström
One more thing - when you do claim at 70, make sure you understand how your benefits will be taxed. Depending on your other income sources, up to 85% of your Social Security can be subject to federal income tax. Many people don't plan for this and get surprised at tax time. Your state may also tax SS benefits differently.
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Emma Johnson
•YES!! THIS!! I got BLINDSIDED by taxes on my SS benefits!! Had no idea they would be taxed!!! The government is taking my money TWICE!!! Complete ROBBERY if you ask me!
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Leila Haddad
To answer your specific question about finding this on the website: The tool you want is called the "Retirement Estimator" which you can find here: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/estimator.html When you log in with your my Social Security credentials, you can see estimates based on different claiming ages. There's also an option to enter custom earnings amounts for future years where you could enter zeros. If you want even more detail, you can download the "Detailed Calculator" software mentioned earlier, but for most people, the online tool provides sufficient information.
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Freya Andersen
•Perfect, thank you for the direct link! I'll check out the Retirement Estimator today. I feel much better about my retirement plans now that I understand how this works.
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