Back to the original question - one thing no one mentioned is that if your husband filed for spousal benefits before 70, he wouldn't even get the full spousal amount because he'd be filing early for his spousal benefit. So not only would he permanently reduce his own benefit, but the spousal benefit for those 5 months would be reduced too. Double penalty!

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses! I think we have our answer - my husband should just wait until he turns 70 in September 2025 to file for his benefits and not try to get spousal benefits during those 5 months. It's disappointing that we can't take advantage of this small window, but I understand it's more important to maximize his lifetime benefit. I appreciate all the information!

One thing to keep in mind about HR 82 - even if it doesn't pass in its current form, there are other compromise bills that might help your situation. The Public Servants Protection and Fairness Act would create a new formula that would give relief to many WEP-affected retirees, especially those with many years of substantial covered earnings like you have. Additionally, you might want to check if any of your county employment was actually covered employment. Some county positions do pay into Social Security alongside their pension system. This would increase your years of substantial earnings and potentially further reduce your WEP penalty.

That's interesting about the compromise bill. I'll look into that too. As for my county job, I'm pretty sure we didn't pay into SS because they specifically mentioned that when I was hired - they said it was a Section 218 issue or something like that. But I'll double-check my old pay stubs to make sure.

Something important to understand about your situation: You're dealing with two separate processes, and they must happen in sequence: 1) First, your SSA-521 withdrawal must be processed completely. This includes calculating exactly how much you need to repay from your retirement benefits. 2) Only after that's finalized can they move forward with your survivor benefit application. Once your withdrawal is approved, you should receive a formal notice with repayment instructions. After repayment is confirmed, the survivor benefits processing can begin. The good news is that survivor benefits will typically be backdated to your application date (or protective filing date), so you won't lose benefits due to administrative delays.

WAIT im confused - if you already suspended your benefits why do you have to withdraw them too? aren't those the same thing??

One more critical point: Social Security is inflation-adjusted. This is HUGELY valuable and often overlooked. When you delay and get a larger benefit, you're getting a larger inflation-protected annuity, which is extremely expensive to purchase in the private market. With inflation running high in recent years, this protection becomes even more valuable. The 8.7% COLA in 2023 and 3.2% in 2024 meant significant increases for recipients. If you have other retirement assets, many financial planners now recommend spending down your non-inflation-protected assets first, while delaying Social Security to maximize this inflation-protected income stream.

Thank you all for such thoughtful responses! This is exactly the kind of real-world experience I was hoping for. Based on your comments, I think I need to: 1) Call SSA to get my personalized projections for different ages, 2) Consider my family health history more carefully, 3) Think about how my decision affects my spouse if I die first, and 4) Look at our overall retirement assets. I'm leaning more toward waiting now, at least until my FRA, if not 70. The difference in monthly benefits is much larger than I realized, and since my family tends to be long-lived, the math probably works in my favor to wait. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and knowledge!

i dont understand why ur waiting till 70 for ur own benefits? thats forever away! why not just take everything now and be done with it? my brother waited and then passed away before he ever got to collect the higher amount. just my 2 cents

UPDATE: I was able to get through by utilizing the phone number of my local office! I called as soon as they opened at 9am and was connected within 10 minutes. They've scheduled my appointment for next Tuesday, and I've already completed my Medicare enrollment online. Thank you everyone for your suggestions and support!