i claimed at 62 and now i regret it so much!! wish i had waited. im getting almost $800 less each month than if i waited till my FRA. think carefully about your decision!!

As a final note, the SSA provides calculators on their website that can show you your estimated benefit amounts at different claiming ages. These estimates are based on your actual earnings record. You can also schedule an appointment with an SSA representative who can walk you through your specific options. The decision of when to claim is highly personal and depends on factors like your health, family longevity, current financial needs, other income sources, and marital status. There's no one-size-fits-all answer, but understanding the exact percentage increases and reductions helps you make an informed choice.

Everybody here is making it more complicated than it needs to be. Just go on ssa.gov and create a my Social Security account if you don't already have one. Under benefit estimates, there's an option to calculate different scenarios. You can enter your ex's info there and see what you'd get without having to deal with anyone on the phone.

Just one more thing - if your ex has remarried but you haven't, you can still claim on his record. But if YOU remarry, you generally can't claim on your ex's record anymore (unless that marriage ends too). Just mentioning since I didn't know this before I started researching.

One additional tip: If you're married and file jointly, remember that you each need to submit a separate W-4V form for your individual benefits. Also, keep in mind that generally only about 50-85% of your Social Security benefits are taxable, depending on your combined income. This is calculated using your adjusted gross income plus nontaxable interest plus half of your Social Security benefits. If this total exceeds certain thresholds ($25,000 for single filers or $32,000 for joint filers), then a portion of your benefits becomes taxable.

Just to follow up on my earlier comment - once your withholding starts, check your MySocialSecurity account online to verify the correct percentage is being withheld. When I submitted my W-4V, they somehow entered 12% instead of the 10% I requested. It took another form submission to correct it. The online account shows your payment details including all deductions.

I'm also a retired teacher (Maine) married to someone getting SS. The GPO is still in effect and probably will be for the foreseeable future despite all the talk. Here's what helped me: go to socialsecurity.gov, create an account if she doesn't have one, and run the benefit calculator. It will tell her EXACTLY what she might get as a spouse. Don't count on getting anything though - with her pension amount, the 2/3 offset will probably eliminate any spousal benefit entirely. But survivor benefits later might still give her something. The whole GPO/WEP situation is incredibly frustrating for those of us who dedicated our careers to public service!!

I believe Colorado is one of the states where teachers DON'T pay into Social Security, which is why the GPO applies to her. In some states, teachers DO pay into both systems. Anyway, definitely have her apply regardless! My aunt was in almost the identical situation (teacher in Illinois) and she assumed she wouldn't get anything because of GPO. But it turned out part of her teaching career was actually covered employment because she worked in a different state early in her career where they DID pay into SS. She ended up qualifying for a small amount of spousal benefits! The SSA systems are complicated and even their own agents sometimes miss things. Always apply and get the official determination.

Just to add an important point - when you go in for your appointment, ask them to calculate what's called your "RIB-LIM" amount. This is a special calculation that applies in cases where your spouse was on disability benefits. In some situations, it can affect the amount of survivor benefits you're eligible for. Many SSA reps don't automatically check this, so you want to specifically ask for this calculation.

Thank you all for the helpful advice! I've scheduled an appointment with SSA for next week, and I've made a list of all the questions to ask based on your suggestions - especially about the earnings test and that RIB-LIM calculation. For now, I'm leaning toward taking reduced survivor benefits even with the earnings test reduction, since I could still receive around $1,388 monthly according to the calculations provided. That would help me a lot financially while I'm still working part-time. I'll update after my appointment in case the information helps someone else in a similar situation.