Can my husband get higher Social Security spousal benefits at 65 when I claim at my FRA of 66y10m?
I've been doing some math for our retirement next year and realized something might not be optimal. I'll reach my full retirement age (FRA) at 66 years and 10 months and plan to claim then. My latest Social Security statement shows my estimated monthly benefit will be $3333. My husband is planning to retire earlier - at 65 years old - with a much smaller benefit of just $1252 per month according to his statement. I've heard about spousal benefits but honestly find the rules confusing. Would he be better off taking spousal benefits based on my earnings record rather than his own? Or should he wait until his own FRA? I know there's that 50% calculation for spousal benefits, but I'm not sure if that's 50% of my FRA amount or what I actually receive. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but I want to make sure we maximize our combined benefits for retirement. Any advice from those who've navigated this?
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Kyle Wallace
Yes, your husband likely would benefit from spousal benefits, but there are important details to consider. Since you're waiting until your FRA (66 years 10 months) to claim, you'll get your full $3333. If your husband claims spousal benefits at 65, which is before his FRA, they'll be permanently reduced. Spousal benefits at FRA are 50% of your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount), so potentially $1666.50 - which is higher than his $1252. BUT claiming them early will reduce this amount. The reduction is about 8.33% per year before FRA, so he'd lose some of that advantage. Importantly, he can't JUST claim spousal benefits. The SSA will pay his own benefit first, then add enough spousal benefits to reach the higher total (if applicable). This is called the "deemed filing" rule.
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Malia Ponder
•Thank you for this detailed explanation! So if I understand correctly, even with the reduction for claiming at 65, he'd still potentially get more than his own $1252 benefit? And when you say "deemed filing" - does that mean they automatically calculate and give him the better deal, or do we need to specifically request both types?
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Ryder Ross
my wife and i were in a similar situation. she had the higher benifit. we found out he has to file for his OWN benifits first before he can get any spousal benifits. so he will get his $1252 first, then they add on extra money to get to spousal amount (but reduced for early filing). honestly was confusing for us to, took 3 calls to SS to figure it out!
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Malia Ponder
•Oh wow, thank you for sharing your experience! That makes it clearer. So he doesn't get the full spousal benefit, just the difference added on. Did you find it was still worthwhile for your spouse to file early, even with the reduction?
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Gianni Serpent
This is a perfect example of coordinating benefits between spouses. Let me clarify a few things: 1) The maximum spousal benefit is 50% of the higher earner's PIA at the spouse's FRA 2) Early filing reduces spousal benefits by approximately 25/36 of 1% for each month before FRA (up to 36 months) and 5/12 of 1% for additional months Since your husband is filing approximately 12-18 months early (depending on his exact FRA), his reduction would be roughly 8-12%. CRITICAL POINT: If your husband's own benefit is $1252 and the maximum spousal benefit he could get at FRA is $1666.50 (50% of your $3333), then even with the early filing reduction, the spousal boost would likely be beneficial. The spousal boost would be calculated as: His reduced spousal benefit minus his own benefit. This amount gets added to his check. I'd recommend running the exact numbers with SSA before making your decision.
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Henry Delgado
•Wait a minute...I thought if you claim spousal benefits early, you lose a LOT more than just 8-12%! My neighbor said his wife lost almost 30% of her spousal benefit by claiming 2 years early! Is the reduction formula really different for spousal vs regular retirement benefits???
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Gianni Serpent
•Yes, the reduction formulas are different between retirement and spousal benefits. For retirement benefits, it's approximately 5/9 of 1% per month for the first 36 months early and 5/12 of 1% for additional months. For spousal benefits, it's 25/36 of 1% per month for the first 36 months and 5/12 of 1% for additional months. If someone claims 24 months early, that's about a 13.3% reduction for spousal benefits. If your neighbor experienced a 30% reduction, there might have been other factors involved or possibly a misunderstanding about the calculation.
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Olivia Kay
Don't forget that your husband can't even receive spousal benefits until YOU file for your retirement benefits. If you're waiting until 66y10m to file, he can't get any spousal benefits until then, even if he files for his own retirement earlier.
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Malia Ponder
•Oh! I hadn't realized that. So even if he retires at 65, he wouldn't get any spousal benefits until I actually file at my FRA? That definitely affects our planning. Thank you for pointing this out!
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Joshua Hellan
I had EXACTLY this situation last year. The most important thing that nobody told us: make your husband's application SPECIFICALLY mention he wants to file for spousal benefits too. My husband just applied for retirement and we had to go back months later to fix it because SSA didn't automatically add the spousal portion! Also - trying to get someone on the phone at SSA to explain all this was IMPOSSIBLE. I spent 3 days trying to get through. Finally I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Worth it to get this sorted out correctly the first time. The agent I spoke with was super helpful and confirmed my husband could get the extra spousal amount even though he'd already started his own benefits.
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Jibriel Kohn
•Does that claimyr thing really work? I've been trying to get through to SS for weeks about changing my direct deposit!
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Joshua Hellan
•Yes! It honestly saved me hours of frustration. Instead of calling SSA directly, you go through their system and they call you back when they've got an agent on the line. I was skeptical too but was desperate after being disconnected multiple times.
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Jibriel Kohn
your overthinking this!! just have him wait till HIS full retirement age and then he can get the full 50% of yours. thats what me and my wife did. the math works out better if you BOTH wait till your FRAs. dont complicate it!
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Kyle Wallace
•While waiting until FRA is generally good advice for maximizing benefits, everyone's situation is different. If they need the income sooner or have health concerns, claiming early might make sense. Also, the husband's own benefit is substantially lower than 50% of the wife's benefit, so even with early filing reductions, he might come out ahead with spousal benefits.
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Henry Delgado
Has anyone calculated if it's better for the husband to just claim HIS benefits at 65, then when his wife files at her FRA, have him switch to spousal benefits? Or does he get locked into his own benefit rate forever if he claims early??? The SSA website is SO CONFUSING about this!! I've read the same pages like 20 times and still don't understand if you can switch later or not!!!
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Gianni Serpent
•He doesn't actually "switch" to spousal benefits. When his wife files, the SSA will automatically calculate if he's eligible for additional spousal benefits on top of his own benefit. He'll continue receiving his own (reduced) benefit, plus potentially an additional amount to bring his total up to the spousal benefit level (also reduced for early filing). This happens automatically when the higher-earning spouse files, though as someone mentioned above, it's good to explicitly mention spousal benefits when initially filing to make sure it's processed correctly.
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Malia Ponder
Thank you all for the helpful information! I think I understand the situation better now. My husband would still likely benefit from the spousal boost even with filing early, but: 1. He can't receive ANY spousal benefits until I file at my FRA 2. He needs to explicitly request spousal benefits when applying 3. He'll get his own reduced benefit PLUS potentially an additional amount to reach the reduced spousal benefit level I think we need to run some calculations and possibly consult with SSA directly before making our final decision. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and knowledge!
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Kyle Wallace
•That's a perfect summary of the situation. One additional note: when calculating the potential benefit, remember that your husband filing at 65 means his own benefit will be reduced from $1252, and his potential spousal benefit will be reduced from the maximum of $1666.50. The exact calculations can get complex, which is why consulting with SSA directly is a good plan.
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