Can my husband start Social Security at FRA while working until his retirement date?

Yes, your husband CAN start collecting Social Security retirement benefits once he reaches his Full Retirement Age (FRA) in October while continuing to work until March 2025. Here's what you should know: 1. Once he reaches FRA, there is NO earnings limit, so he can earn any amount without reduction in benefits 2. Starting benefits at FRA means he gets his full benefit amount with no reductions 3. This won't affect his employer health insurance coverage - that continues until his retirement 4. You both need to enroll in Medicare when his employer coverage ends in March 2025 Be aware that his Social Security benefits will be subject to taxation if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds, which is likely if he's still working full-time.

Be careful with the medicare enrollment!!!! When I retired my HR told me wrong information and I missed my enrollment window. Big headache and I had to pay penalties. Make SURE you start the Medicare process at least 3 months before his insurance ends!!!

Your husband can definitely claim SS at his FRA while continuing to work. That's actually a smart strategy in your situation. Each month he delays claiming past FRA (until age 70) adds 2/3 of 1% to his benefit amount. So filing in March 2025 instead of October 2024 would increase his benefit by about 3.3%. However, collecting for those 5 months might outweigh the increase, depending on his benefit amount. One thing to consider - since he's still working, his benefits will likely be taxable. Up to 85% of SS benefits can be subject to income tax when combined income exceeds certain thresholds. You may want to increase tax withholding on his paychecks or make quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid a surprise tax bill.

I was in almost the SAME situation last year!!! My husband hit FRA but kept working for another 8 months. We weren't clear on the rules either, but he DID start collecting at FRA while still working and it worked out fine. The only surprise was how much was taken out for taxes - we had to adjust his withholding on his W-4. The SSA website was USELESS when I tried to find this info and calling them was IMPOSSIBLE. Just prepare for the tax impact.

Did anyone else notice the math doesn't add up in the original post? If husband is 67 in August, and FRA is 67 and 2 months, then FRA would be October, not November. And how is wife already collecting if she's only 68? Her FRA would be at least 66 and some months depending on birth year. Not trying to be difficult but these details matter with SS calculations.

have either of u checked ur SS statements online lately? My husband thought he knew his benefit amount but when he finally checked the actual statement it was $430 less than he thought! Big difference in our budget planning

If you're having trouble reaching someone at Social Security to discuss this, try using Claimyr (claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation needing to coordinate retirement and Medicare enrollment timing. Was on hold for HOURS trying to reach SSA directly. With Claimyr, got a callback from SSA in about 15 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration after weeks of failed attempts to reach someone.

Regarding Medicare enrollment: You'll need to complete a form called "Request for Employment Information" (CMS-L564) from your husband's employer when you apply. This proves you had qualifying health coverage and helps avoid late enrollment penalties. You can apply for Medicare through SSA up to 3 months before you need coverage to start. Also important: Since you'll both be transitioning to Medicare at the same time, you each need to complete your own enrollment. Your husband's retirement doesn't automatically enroll you, even though you're both on his employer plan currently.

One more thing to consider - if your husband starts SS benefits in October but continues working, he'll still be paying FICA taxes on his earnings which slightly increases his benefit amount through something called the Annual Earnings Test Recalculation. SSA automatically recalculates his benefit each year to account for additional earnings. So he could see a small bump in benefits after he fully retires. Most people don't know about this little bonus!