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I'm just here to say DON'T TRUST the breakeven calculators out there!!! They're all based on a bunch of assumptions that probably don't apply to YOUR specific situation! They don't account for investment returns if you took early benefits and invested them, they don't account for inflation properly, and they COMPLETELY IGNORE the emotional value of reducing your stress NOW rather than later!!! If your job is making you miserable and you have other income sources, claiming early might be the right choice FOR YOU regardless of what the math says about some theoretical future that might never happen!
Fair point about the emotional value - that's hard to quantify. But the SSA calculators do account for cost of living adjustments. And if someone is disciplined enough to actually invest the early benefits rather than spending them, that's great, but most people don't do that in reality.
Thank you all for the helpful responses! I've decided to set up an appointment with SSA to get exact benefit estimates for both my own record and ex-spousal benefits at different ages. I'm also going to talk with my employer about possibly reducing to part-time hours - that might be the perfect compromise to reduce stress while still maximizing my SS benefits. I appreciate all the different perspectives here. This is exactly the kind of thoughtful discussion I was hoping for when I posted my question.
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Just want to point out that SSDI conversion to survivor benefits is also important here. When a person is receiving SSDI and passes away, the survivor benefit calculation is a bit different than standard survivor benefits. The benefit is based on the SSDI payment amount, but there can be adjustments for the deceased's early claiming. Make sure the SSA rep understands your wife was on SSDI when calculating your survivor amount.
That's a really good point that I hadn't considered. I know she had only been receiving SSDI for about 9 months before she passed. Does that affect the calculation compared to if she had been on SSDI for years?
The length of time she received SSDI doesn't matter for the calculation. What matters is that SSA will calculate your survivor benefit based on 100% of her Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the amount she would have received at her full retirement age. Since she was receiving SSDI, that's essentially what she was already getting (SSDI pays at the FRA rate regardless of age). Then that amount would be reduced based on YOUR age when YOU claim survivor benefits.
IMPORTANT!!!! Did either of those SSA reps actually RUN THE NUMBERS for your specific situation???? Or were they just telling you general rules? Because without running your actual earnings record through their system, they might be GUESSING about which strategy is better for you!!!
You know what, they didn't! They were speaking in generalities. Should I specifically ask them to run calculations for both scenarios when I go back? Is that something they can do?
Yes, absolutely ask them to run the numbers for your specific case. A good Claims Specialist can show you the exact dollar amount you would receive under different claiming scenarios. Make sure they show you: 1. Survivor benefit amount if claimed now at 65 2. Your own retirement benefit if claimed now at 65 3. Your own retirement benefit at your FRA (66+8mo) Seeing these specific numbers will make the best strategy clear and give you documentation to refer to.
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hey im confused about something kinda similar. what exactly is wep/gpo? i keep seeing it mentioned but don't understand if it affects me or not
WEP stands for Windfall Elimination Provision and GPO is Government Pension Offset. They only apply to people who worked in jobs that didn't pay into Social Security (like certain state/local government positions, some federal jobs, or foreign employment) AND who also qualify for Social Security benefits from other covered work. WEP can reduce your own SS retirement benefits while GPO can reduce spousal or survivor benefits. If you've only worked in regular private-sector jobs where you paid SS taxes, these provisions don't apply to you.
Update: I took everyone's advice and carefully reviewed my earnings record year by year. Everything looks correct - all my factory jobs are showing the right earnings with SS taxes paid. I'm still planning to call SSA about removing that warning message, but I feel much better knowing my actual work history is correctly recorded. Thanks for all the helpful information!
Glad to hear your earnings record is accurate! One additional tip: when you do speak with SSA, ask them to add a note to your file confirming you have no non-covered employment. This can be helpful when you eventually apply for benefits, as it creates documentation that the WEP/GPO warning was investigated and determined to be incorrect. It may save you some headaches down the road.
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so what are you going to do with the money??? i'd be on vacation somewhere warm lol
I will be out of the country on vacation for the next 6 months!!!🤪🤪 Just kidding, wish I could! Actually, I'm going to pay off some debt and put the rest in savings. After the initial shock, I'm just grateful for the financial breathing room.
one thing nobody mentioned is that back in my day you couldn't get benefits from an ex... the rules keep changing so make sure your actually entitled to it
The rule about survivor benefits from ex-spouses has actually been consistent for decades. If you were married for at least 10 years before divorcing and haven't remarried before age 60, you can claim survivor benefits on your ex-spouse's record. This is different from spousal benefits during life, which have different requirements. The SSA wouldn't approve and pay benefits unless eligibility was verified.
Yara Khalil
whats ur pension monthly amount? The GPO reduction is 2/3 of that amount gets taken from ur spousal benefit. So if ur pension is $3000/month, they'll reduce ur spousal benefit by $2000. If ur spousal benefit would be $1500, you'd only get about $0 after GPO. A lot of teachers find out they get nothing after GPO is applied.
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Dmitry Petrov
•My pension is about $4,250 monthly, so 2/3 of that would be around $2,833. I'm not even sure what my potential spousal benefit would be based on my husband's record, but I'm guessing it might be less than the offset amount, which means I'd get nothing? This whole system seems designed to penalize teachers and other public servants.
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Keisha Brown
For your actual application process with GPO, here's what to have ready: 1. Your government pension award letter showing monthly amount 2. Dates of all government employment where you didn't pay into Social Security 3. Any W-2s or earnings records from jobs where you DID pay into Social Security 4. Your marriage certificate 5. Your husband's Social Security number With your FRA in August 2025, I'd apply in early May 2025. This gives them 3 months to process while avoiding any early filing reductions. GPO is complicated enough without adding early filing reductions to the mix!
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Dmitry Petrov
•Thank you for this detailed list! I'll start gathering these documents now so I have everything ready when it's time to apply. Do you know if they need the original marriage certificate or if a certified copy is acceptable?
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