Can my husband switch to spousal benefits when my SS retirement is higher than his police pension?

Unfortunately, your husband is likely stuck with his current benefit. Since he's already collecting his own Social Security retirement, the only way he could get spousal benefits would be if 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is higher than 100% of his own PIA. It's not just about the monthly amounts you're actually receiving. Also, there might be complications if he has a police pension from work not covered by Social Security - the Government Pension Offset (GPO) could reduce or eliminate any potential spousal benefits. I'd recommend speaking directly with SSA to confirm.

Your husband can ONLY get spousal benefits if 50% of YOUR benefit would be higher than HIS current benefit. And even then, he'd only get the DIFFERENCE added to his existing benefit, not the full 50%. So if 50% of your $2,725 is about $1,362, that's actually LESS than his current $1,430, so he wouldn't qualify for any spousal benefits. The system doesn't let you simply choose the higher option once you've filed for your own benefits.

my husband was in similar situation but opposite (i had lower SS). we went to local office and they explained he couldnt switch completely to my record. but they did some calculation and he got a small increase based on my earning record. think they called it "dual entitlement" or something?? worth asking about!

I'm a retired SSA claims specialist, so let me clarify how this works: 1. When your husband filed for his retirement benefits at FRA, he received 100% of his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). 2. For spousal benefits, the maximum anyone can receive is 50% of their spouse's PIA at their FRA. 3. Because your husband is already receiving his own benefit, he would only receive the DIFFERENCE between his own benefit and the spousal benefit IF the spousal benefit were higher. 4. Since your benefit is about $2,725 at age 64, your PIA (what you'd get at FRA) is likely around $2,900-$3,000. 5. That means your husband's potential spousal benefit would be around $1,450-$1,500 (50% of your PIA). 6. If his current benefit is $1,430, he might be eligible for a small additional amount. He should contact SSA to request this adjustment - it won't happen automatically.

My wife and i went thru this EXACT thing last year!! It took FOREVER to get thru to social security. we called for WEEKS and either got disconnected or couldn't get past the hold. Finally found this service called Claimyr that got us through to an agent in 20 minutes. worth every penny. they have a video that shows how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU or just go to claimyr.com

CRITICAL POINT that no one has mentioned: There's a DEADLINE for requesting this adjustment! Your husband needs to file for the spousal benefit within 12 months of your entitlement (when you started receiving benefits). If he misses this window, he could lose out on back payments. Don't delay in contacting SSA to at least start the process!

Kinda off topic but am I the only one wondering how a teacher's SS benefit is almost DOUBLE a police officer's?? I thought police made way more than teachers? Is this normal or is there something strange about your situations?

Based on the numbers you provided, let's do a quick calculation: Your monthly benefit at 64 = $2,725 Applying early retirement reduction factor (approximately 93.3% of PIA at age 64) Your estimated PIA ≈ $2,920 Your husband's monthly benefit at FRA = $1,430 This is 100% of his PIA Spousal benefit = 50% of your PIA = $1,460 Since $1,460 > $1,430, your husband may be eligible for a supplemental spousal benefit of approximately $30/month. He should contact SSA to verify these calculations and apply for the dual entitlement if applicable.

Just to close the loop here - once you've confirmed with SSA whether your husband qualifies for the additional amount through dual entitlement, make sure to ask about how this affects future cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs). Both portions of his benefit (his own and the spousal component) will receive COLAs, but they're applied separately to each benefit component. Also, if your husband is under the full retirement age for the spousal benefit (which may be different than his FRA for his own benefit), there might be additional reductions to consider.