Thank you everyone for the insights! After reading all your responses, I'm going to have a serious talk with my husband about delaying his benefits until 70. The idea of using term life insurance to cover the "what if" scenario during the delay period is especially helpful. I'm still not sure what I should do about my own benefits, though. Should I: 1) Take my own reduced benefit at 62 2) Wait until my FRA at 67 3) Take spousal benefits based on his record when he files If I take my own reduced benefit early, will that affect what I get as a survivor later on? These decisions are so complicated!

just remember social security office is IMPOSSIBLE to deal with. my friend wants to apply for her widows benefits and shes been trying for a month to get an appointment!!

Regarding citizenship - for Social Security benefits purposes, citizenship is less important than residency status. Since the daughter is residing in Spain and is not a US citizen, she's treated as a nonresident alien under US tax law, subject to the treaty provisions between the US and Spain. One other important point about the Representative Payee situation - since the mother is a non-US citizen living abroad, SSA might require additional verification and documentation. This could include more frequent Representative Payee accounting reports. She should ask the FBU specifically about any special requirements for her situation. Also, make sure your friend keeps all documentation of how the benefits are spent on behalf of her daughter. Foreign Representative Payees sometimes face additional scrutiny.

A dedicated bank account is definitely a good idea! Representative Payees are actually required to keep Social Security funds separate from their own money. The account should be titled in a way that shows the child owns the money but the mother manages it - something like "Maria Rodriguez, representative payee for Sofia Rodriguez, beneficiary." This makes it much easier to track how funds are spent and complete the annual Representative Payee Report. It also helps prevent any appearance of misuse of funds, which can be especially important in international cases where there might be more scrutiny.

What about that thing where they increase ur benefit if they withhold some? My uncle said they recalculated his benefit when he hit retirement age and it went up because of the months they didn't pay him when he was working too much?? Anyone know about this?

Based on everything shared here, it seems your best option is to: 1. Continue working through December 2. Apply for retirement benefits around October (for January start date) 3. Start benefits in January when you're no longer working This avoids the earnings limit issue entirely, prevents possible overpayments, and gives SSA enough processing time. Plus, waiting gives you a slightly higher benefit amount anyway due to delayed retirement credits.

I STILL think this is a TERRIBLE policy!!! Both spouses pay into SS their entire working lives but then one doesn't get squat when the other dies if they already have their own benefit?? How is that fair??? We should all be writing to our congress people about this!!! And don't even get me started on the WEP/GPO penalties that some of us face. The whole system needs to be overhauled!!!

One thing to clarify that might help others reading this thread: for retirement benefits, you can choose between your own benefit OR a spousal benefit (up to 50% of your spouse's FRA amount while they're alive). For survivor benefits after a spouse passes away, you can receive up to 100% of what your deceased spouse was receiving if you're at full retirement age (less if you take survivor benefits early). In both cases, you get the higher of either your own benefit OR the spousal/survivor benefit - never both combined. The OP's situation is unfortunately common - when both spouses have worked and earned their own benefits, sometimes the survivor rules don't provide additional amounts. The $255 death benefit hasn't been increased since the 1950s, which is why it seems so small compared to monthly benefit amounts.

has anyone mentioned the kids can get benefits from BOTH US and canada? my friends kids got both after their dad died who worked in both countries, but i dont know much about how it worked

Since you're dealing with both US and Canadian benefits, here's what I recommend for your planning: 1. Request your SSA earnings record and your CPP contribution statement to confirm your work history in both countries is accurate. 2. For your wife's planning, she should compare these scenarios: - Taking survivor benefits at her FRA, then switching to her own SS at 70 - Taking her own reduced benefit early, then switching to survivor benefits at her FRA 3. Calculate the family maximum benefit now so you have realistic expectations for what your children will receive. 4. Contact both SSA and Service Canada to confirm children's eligibility for survivor benefits under both systems. 5. Consider consulting with a financial planner who specializes in cross-border retirement planning, particularly someone with expertise in the US-Canada Social Security Agreement. The fact that survivor benefits aren't reduced by WEP is extremely important to your planning and could significantly impact your strategy.