Can my wife switch from her early SS retirement to spousal benefits when I file at 70?
My situation is getting complicated and I need some clarity. My wife started collecting her Social Security benefits at 62 about 2 years ago. She's only getting around $1,100 a month because she took it early and didn't have many working years. I'm 68 now and planning to wait until 70 to maximize my benefit, which should be around $3,600 based on the SSA estimates. Here's what I'm wondering - once I start collecting at 70, can my wife drop her smaller benefit and switch to taking half of mine instead? Would that give her more monthly income? Does she need to do anything special to make this switch? I've heard conflicting things from friends about how spousal benefits work when you've already filed for your own.
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TommyKapitz
Yes, your wife may qualify for additional benefits as your spouse once you file at 70, but she won't completely "drop" her benefit. The SSA will pay her a combination of benefits equaling the higher amount. Since she took her own benefit early, she has a reduction factor permanently applied to her record. When you file, SSA will calculate if she's eligible for additional spousal benefits on top of her reduced retirement benefit. The max spousal benefit is 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (your benefit at full retirement age, not your age 70 amount). SSA will automatically do this calculation when you file - she'll get her reduced benefit plus the difference to bring her up to the spousal rate if it's higher.
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Louisa Ramirez
•Thanks for the explanation. So to make sure I understand correctly - she'll keep her current reduced benefit but might get an additional amount to bring her total up? And it would be based on my FRA amount not my age 70 amount? That's disappointing - I was hoping she could get half of my age 70 benefit.
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Angel Campbell
To add to what the previous person said, the whole 'drop her benefit and take half of yours' isn't how it actually works. What really happens is the SSA will pay her the HIGHER of either her own reduced benefit OR up to 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA, which is your benefit at your full retirement age, NOT your increased age 70 benefit). And since she took her own benefit early at 62, her spousal benefit will also be permanently reduced. It's not as good as many people think. The SSA website explains this but it's super confusing!!!
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Louisa Ramirez
•I see - so she can't even get the full 50% of my FRA amount because she filed early for her own? That's a double penalty! This system is way more complex than they make it sound.
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Payton Black
My husband n i were in exact same boat!! I took mine at 62 (got $980) and when he filed at 69 my check went up to $1450. Not quite half of his but better than what i had. Call ur local office to find out the exact numbers for ur situation.
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Louisa Ramirez
•Thanks for sharing your experience. That gives me a better idea of what to expect. Did your combined household income increase enough to make a real difference?
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Harold Oh
I tried calling the SSA office last month about a similar question and spent 4 hours on hold before getting disconnected. FOUR HOURS WASTED. Then tried again next day and gave up after 2 hours. Their phone system is a joke. I ended up using a service called Claimyr to connect me directly to an SSA agent without the wait. They have a demo video at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Got through to a live person at SSA in about 15 minutes and got all my spousal benefit questions answered. Totally worth it for me because I was going crazy with the endless hold times.
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Louisa Ramirez
•I didn't know something like that existed. Might have to check it out because I tried calling last week and couldn't get through either. Their hold times are ridiculous.
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Amun-Ra Azra
They make this system so COMPLICATED on purpose to cheat us!!! My sister-in-law got screwed out of THOUSANDS because they "forgot" to tell her about spousal benefits when her husband filed. The government takes our money all our lives then makes it IMPOSSIBLE to get straight answers!!!!
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TommyKapitz
•The system is definitely complex, but I wouldn't say it's designed to cheat people. It's more that the rules have evolved over decades of legislative changes, creating a patchwork of regulations. That said, it's true that SSA representatives aren't always proactive about explaining all possible filing strategies.
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Summer Green
Small but important correction to some answers above: When your wife started collecting at 62, her benefit was reduced by about 30% from what she would have received at her Full Retirement Age (FRA). When you file at 70, she may be eligible for a spousal benefit, but that amount is ALSO reduced because she took benefits early. The exact calculation: She can receive the higher of either her own reduced benefit OR up to 50% of your PIA (your FRA amount, not age 70 amount) MINUS the reduction factor for taking spousal benefits early. The reduction is permanent - there's no reset when you file. Contact SSA directly for a personalized calculation with actual numbers from your earnings records.
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Louisa Ramirez
•That's really helpful - so essentially she's locked into some kind of reduction no matter what because she filed at 62. Is there any advantage to her suspending her current benefits until I file at 70, or is the damage already done?
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Gael Robinson
My friend just went thru this. Her benefit went up when hubby filed but not by as much as she thought. They take your wifes FRA benefit subtract it from half of your FRA benefit. If thats a positive number she gets an addition. If its negative she just keeps hers. Thats my understanding anyways.
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Summer Green
•That's partially correct. The calculation is more complex when someone has filed early. When your wife took benefits at 62, she accepted a permanent reduction. When calculating potential spousal benefits, SSA will compare her reduced benefit to her potential reduced spousal benefit (which is less than 50% of his PIA because she took benefits early). She'll receive whichever amount is higher, not an addition of the two.
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Louisa Ramirez
I appreciate all the responses. This is much more complicated than I thought! So basically, since my wife took her benefit early at 62, she'll always have some kind of reduction applied, and the best we can hope for is that she might get some additional amount on top of her current benefit if half of my FRA amount (reduced for her early filing) is more than what she gets now. I think I'll need to talk directly with SSA to get exact numbers. Really wish they made this clearer on their website.
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Angel Campbell
•That's exactly right! And don't feel bad - almost NOBODY understands how this works until they're in the middle of it. Even some SSA reps get confused about the details. If you do talk to them, make sure to ask specifically for the spousal benefit calculation with the early retirement reduction factor applied. Good luck!
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