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One important factor many people overlook is the impact on survivor benefits. If you're married, the higher of the two spouse's benefits becomes the survivor benefit when one passes away. If you expect your benefit to be higher than your spouse's, waiting to claim increases not just your retirement benefit but potentially your spouse's survivor benefit as well. This creates an additional incentive to delay, especially with family longevity on your side. The survivor benefit protection is essentially free "insurance" that comes with delaying your claim. If you're concerned about Social Security's future, remember that any legislative changes would almost certainly be phased in gradually and likely wouldn't affect those already near retirement age. Current retirees and those close to retirement are typically protected in reform proposals.
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Quick follow-up since there seems to be some confusion in the thread: survivor benefits reach their maximum at your FRA (66 and 6 months for someone born in 1959), unlike retirement benefits which max out at 70. The survivor benefit will be 100% of what your ex-husband was receiving or would have received at his FRA. And yes, you can absolutely switch between benefits - take survivors at your FRA, continue working (with no earnings limit penalty), then switch to your own retirement at 70 if it would be higher. This strategy could maximize your lifetime benefits.
This is incredibly helpful, thank you! I think I understand the strategy now - wait until 66 and 6 months to claim survivor benefits (while possibly still working), then at 70 I could switch to my own benefit if it's higher at that point. I need to find out which would be greater in my case.
does anyone know if the 10 year marriage rule is exactly 10 years or can it be like 9 years and 10 months? asking for my friend who's in a similar situation
It needs to be a full 10 years (to the day) to qualify for any ex-spouse benefits. Unfortunately, 9 years and 10 months wouldn't qualify. The marriage duration requirement is very strict with no exceptions.
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Since your Social Security earnings were from the 1970s/1980s, remember that getting those 5 additional credits now won't significantly increase your benefit amount. SS benefits are based on your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. Working just enough to get the 5 credits won't add much to your calculation unless you earn significantly more than in those early years. Still, qualifying for even a small benefit is generally worth it, especially considering Medicare eligibility. If you decide to pursue this, remember that in 2025 you can earn all 4 credits for the year by making $6,920 total ($1,730 per credit).
This is correct. When I earned my final credits, I wasn't making much above minimum wage at my part-time job, but it was still significantly more than what I earned back in my early working years in the 1970s, so it actually did help my calculation a little bit. Every dollar counts when you're retired!
My neighbor went through something like this. He worked just enough to get his 40 credits, then found out his monthly benefit was only going to be like $120 after WEP. He said even though it wasn't much, it was still free money he would have otherwise left on the table. Plus now his wife gets spousal benefits too I think. You already have 35 credits so might as well get the last 5!
That's encouraging to hear. I'm starting to think it makes sense to just get those last 5 credits. Even a small monthly amount adds up over the years.
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The rules for spouse's benefits are unnecessarily complicated! Here's my understanding based on research and my own experience with my husband's SSDI: 1. The spousal benefit is calculated as the DIFFERENCE between your spouse's own benefit and up to 50% of yours (if filing at FRA) 2. If your wife's PIA (full retirement age amount) is $1,200 but she's getting $850 at 62, they'll compare her $1,200 to 50% of your $2,375 ($1,187.50) 3. Since these amounts are so close, she might not get ANY spousal supplement at all 4. BUT... everything gets reduced for early filing, and the reduction factors are different for retirement vs spousal Possible scenarios: a) If her reduced own benefit > reduced spousal: she just gets her own benefit b) If reduced spousal > reduced own benefit: she gets her own benefit PLUS the difference to reach the spousal amount This is definitely worth scheduling an appointment with SSA to get the exact calculation. They can tell you exactly what she'd receive in all scenarios.
Thank you for breaking it down like this. I didn't realize they would compare her PIA (unreduced benefit) to 50% of mine first, then apply reductions. That makes the calculation even more complicated! Definitely going to need to speak with SSA directly.
my buddy's wife faced this exact situation last year and she ended up just taking her own benefit at 62 and then switching to the spousal benefit at her full retirement age when it wouldn't be reduced anymore. can ur wife do that?
Unfortunately, that strategy is no longer available for anyone born after January 1, 1954. The deemed filing rules were changed by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. Now when someone files for either their own retirement or for spousal benefits, they are deemed to be filing for both simultaneously, and will receive the higher of the two amounts (with appropriate reductions for early filing). The only exceptions to this rule are for surviving spouses (widow/widower benefits) who can still choose when to take each benefit.
Dmitri Volkov
my mom got benefits from 2 exhusbands at the same time so it might depend on ur situation call them and check dont listen to ppl on here
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LilMama23
•That's not possible under Social Security rules. You can be eligible for benefits from multiple spouses/ex-spouses, but you'll only receive the highest amount you're eligible for. Your mother might have received benefits sequentially (first from one ex, then switched to another when it was more advantageous) or she might have received benefits from one ex-spouse and then survivor benefits after another ex passed away, but she wouldn't receive multiple benefits simultaneously.
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Aisha Patel
Has anyone actually successfully claimed on an ex-spouse's record after being widowed from a subsequent marriage? I'm just trying to understand what the process will be like when the time comes. Should I go to my local SSA office or try to handle it by phone?
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Gabrielle Dubois
•I did this last year after my husband passed. The local office was backed up for months, so I made a phone appointment using Claimyr to skip the wait. The agent walked me through all my options based on my marriage history. In-person is good if you have lots of documents they need to see, but phone worked fine for my initial application. They just needed me to fax/upload the supporting documents afterward.
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