Calculating husband's FRA benefit amount after already claiming at 70 for spousal benefit top-off

Yes, you can calculate this! His PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) at FRA is what determines your spousal benefit. Since he claimed at 70, his current benefit is approximately 132% of his PIA (assuming his FRA was 66). So divide his current benefit by 1.32 to get a rough estimate of his PIA at FRA. For example, if he's getting $2,500 now, his PIA would be around $1,894 ($2,500 ÷ 1.32). And yes, when calculating your spousal benefit, they use his PIA including all COLAs since his FRA. That's important because those COLAs add up over time. As a spouse filing at 64, you'll get a reduced amount - about 41.7% of his PIA (instead of the full 50% if you waited until your FRA).

When I was trying to figure out my husband's PIA after he had already filed, I ended up having to visit our local SSA office in person. The online statements are NEVER clear about this stuff!!! BUT - there's actually a faster way to get accurate info. I used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real SSA agent on the phone without the usual 2+ hour wait. They got me connected in under 20 minutes! The agent was able to tell me my husband's exact PIA amount from their records, which solved all our spousal benefit questions. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU It was so much easier than trying to calculate it ourselves or waiting weeks for an appointment.

my wife went thru this last year. you don't get both benefits like some people think. when u file, they give u the higher of either your own benefit (reduced for early filing) OR the spousal benefit (also reduced for filing early). its not both added together!!!

I went through this EXACT situation last year. The whole system is a JOKE when it comes to finding out past benefit amounts! I spent 3 months going back and forth with them. Here's what I learned the HARD WAY: Your spousal benefit is based on his PIA at his FRA PLUS all COLAs since then. But they DON'T make it easy to find this number!!! The 1.32 calculation someone mentioned is CLOSE but not always EXACT because of the way COLAs are applied. The ONLY way to get the ACTUAL number is from SSA directly. When you apply for your benefits, tell them you want a SPOUSAL BENEFIT CALCULATION too. They HAVE to explain how they calculated it!!!

The calculation isn't quite as simple as dividing by 1.32, though that's a reasonable approximation. Here's what's actually happening: 1. Your husband's PIA (the FRA amount) has received COLAs every year since 2013 2. His delayed retirement credits (8% per year from 66-70) were applied to his COLA-adjusted PIA So his current benefit is: [PIA + COLAs from 2013-2017] × 1.32 For your spousal benefit, you'll get the greater of: - Your own reduced retirement benefit - The difference between your reduced retirement benefit and your reduced spousal benefit (which is your husband's PIA with all COLAs × 41.7%) This is why getting the exact PIA from SSA is important - the calculation has multiple variables that affect the final amount.

Has your husband logged into his my Social Security account lately? Sometimes the PIA shows up there if you click around enough. My husband's account had his PIA listed somewhere in the benefit details section even though he's already claiming. Worth checking before you spend hours on the phone!

im confused why would u file at 64 and take a permanent reduction when u could wait till 66/67 (whatever ur FRA is) and get the full 50% of his PIA???? unless u really need the money now it seems like a bad deal to take the early reduction

One more thing worth mentioning - when you apply, make sure you're clear about applying for BOTH your retirement benefit AND spousal benefits. While SSA is supposed to automatically check if you qualify for both, sometimes this gets overlooked. Also, for planning purposes: as a spouse filing at 64 (assuming your FRA is 67), you'll receive approximately 35% of your husband's PIA as a spousal benefit (rather than the 50% at FRA). Your total benefit will be your own reduced retirement benefit, plus the spousal add-on to reach the 35% of his PIA (if that's higher than your own benefit alone).