I filed at 62 last year and was in a similar situation with my husband. After several calls to SSA where I either couldn't get through or got conflicting information, I finally just went to my local office in person. Took almost 3 hours of waiting but I got clear answers about my specific situation. If you can't get through on the phone, try going in person with all your documents and questions written down. They can run your actual numbers there.

One important correction to my earlier comment: The reduction for taking spousal benefits early is actually calculated differently than for your own retirement benefits. At age 62, the spousal benefit reduction is actually MORE than the reduction for your own benefit. For retirement benefits, filing at 62 results in approximately a 30% reduction. For spousal benefits, filing at 62 results in approximately a 35% reduction. So if your full spousal benefit would be 50% of your husband's PIA, at age 62 you'd get closer to 32.5% of his PIA. This is why getting precise calculations for your specific situation is so important. The difference could significantly impact your long-term planning.

One more thing that might help your husband - if he can work longer at his current job (the one covered by Social Security), every additional year of "substantial earnings" will help reduce the WEP penalty. For 2025, substantial earnings means making at least $31,275 in Social Security-covered employment. If he can get to 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security, the WEP won't apply at all. With 12 years already, that would mean 18 more years which probably isn't feasible. But even a few more years will reduce the penalty incrementally.

dont forget RIB (retirement insurance benefits) and DIB (disability insurance benefits). they love throwing those around too lol

my mom got this same email i think. she said something about a lawyer sending her ss statement. gonna call her today and make sure she didnt click anything thanks for posting this

To address your question about how they got your partial SSN - these scammers usually obtain personal information through data breaches that have happened over the years. Companies like Equifax, Target, and many others have had breaches where millions of Americans' data was exposed. The scammers use this partial information to make their phishing attempts more convincing. They might have your name, email, and last 4 digits of your SSN from one of these breaches. As for protecting yourself going forward: 1. The SSA will primarily contact you through postal mail for important matters 2. If you have a my Social Security account, they'll notify you to log in to view secure messages 3. They will NEVER attach documents to emails or ask you to download anything 4. They will NEVER threaten to suspend your SSN or benefits if you don't provide information immediately If you're ever in doubt about a communication claiming to be from SSA, call their official number directly (1-800-772-1213) rather than any number provided in a suspicious email or letter.

my mom went thru something like this and she just gave up trying to get her money back because the SSA people kept giving her different answers every time she called...the system is so broken

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I'm going to try to get through to SSA to request that earnings test recalculation. I had no idea I needed to specifically ask for this - I thought they would automatically adjust it based on my tax return. I'm also reconsidering my timeline for taking survivor benefits based on the earnings test information. One last question if anyone knows - is there a time limit for requesting the earnings recalculation? It's been almost 2 years since that initial withholding.

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful responses! This has given me a lot to think about. I'm definitely going to run more detailed calculations including the investment growth potential and tax implications. I hadn't considered the Roth conversion strategy or the survivor benefit implications for my wife. Sounds like I need to look at this as part of our overall financial picture rather than just comparing benefit amounts at different ages.

I work with retirees as a financial educator, and I've seen both sides of this. The biggest regrets I typically see are from people who claimed early and then continued working without understanding the earnings test (which can temporarily reduce or eliminate benefits if you earn too much before FRA). Or those who claimed early without realizing how it would impact their surviving spouse. But for those who did the math and made an intentional choice based on their specific circumstances? Very few regrets. The key is making an informed decision rather than just claiming early because you can.