Can I collect spousal benefits if my SS is higher than my husband's? Confused about excess benefits

The person at your book club is confusing two different concepts. You CANNOT receive both your own retirement benefit AND a full spousal benefit simultaneously. The maximum you can receive is the higher of either your own benefit OR up to 50% of your spouse's benefit. Since your benefit ($2,450) is already higher than 50% of your husband's benefit (which would be $985), you will not qualify for any additional spousal benefits. You're already receiving the higher amount. The confusion might be about 'restricted applications' which allowed some people born before 1/2/1954 to claim only spousal benefits while letting their own benefits grow. But even that strategy required the spousal benefit to be higher, and that option was eliminated for most people by legislation in 2015.

my sister goes thru this same thing and she said it depneds on if u filed at full retirment age or early. did u file early? that matters

You're getting a lot of incomplete information here. The concept your book club friend was likely referring to is called "deemed filing" which applies differently depending on your birth date. For people born on or after January 2, 1954 (which sounds like your situation), when you file for either retirement or spousal benefits, you are "deemed" to have filed for both, and you'll get essentially the higher of the two amounts. Since your own retirement benefit ($2,450) exceeds 50% of your husband's PIA (Primary Insurance Amount), you don't qualify for additional spousal benefits. There's no such thing as "excess spousal benefits" in the way your friend described. However, if your husband passes away, survivor benefits are different. As a widow, you could potentially receive his full benefit amount if it's higher than your current benefit. But while both of you are alive, you cannot receive both benefits or any "excess."

The SSA ALWAYS gives you misinformation if you call them!! I've never gotten a straight answer from them. They told me I could get spousal benefits while my own benefit increased then later said I couldn't. Cost me thousands of dollars!!!! Your friend is probably thinking of the old file-and-suspend strategy which they eliminated in 2016. The government always takes away the good strategies.

I was in a similar situation last year and spent WEEKS trying to get through to Social Security. When I finally did, they put me on hold for 2 hours and then the call dropped! So frustrating. I ended up using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in about 30 minutes instead of waiting on hold all day. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I finally spoke with an experienced SSA rep, they confirmed what others are saying here - you can't get spousal benefits if your own benefit is higher. The only situation where your husband's record would matter is for survivor benefits if he passes away before you.

Is your freind maybe talking about the lump sum death benefit? When my husband passed I got a one time payment of $255. Not much but it's something I guess.

From my personal experienc, the rules around spousal benefits are VERY confusing! When I claimed SS last year, I found out my ex-spouse benefits would be higher than my own (we were married 22 years), but the SSA office told me three different things before I got it figured out. Definitely not excess benefits though if your benefit is higher.

Just to follow up on a few points that were raised: 1. Since you filed at your Full Retirement Age, you maximized your own benefit (apart from delayed retirement credits) 2. You are correct about survivor benefits - if your husband passes away, you would receive his benefit amount instead of your own (assuming his is higher after accounting for any delayed retirement credits) 3. The "restricted application" strategy that some mentioned was available only to people born before January 2, 1954. It allowed them to take only spousal benefits at FRA while letting their own benefits grow until age 70 4. There is no such thing as "excess spousal benefits" that would allow you to add a portion of your spouse's benefit to your own The confusion often stems from the fact that Social Security will automatically give you the higher of either your own benefit or the spousal benefit you qualify for, but never both simultaneously.