Filing for Social Security early - will it reduce my wife's spousal benefits at her FRA?
Been trying to figure out our Social Security strategy and getting confused about spousal benefits. I'm 63 and thinking about claiming my retirement benefits now (about $2,100/month) instead of waiting until my FRA at 67 (would be around $3,000/month). My wife is 61 and plans to wait until her FRA at 67 to claim spousal benefits since her own work record is pretty minimal. Here's what I'm stuck on: If I claim early and take the reduction, will that permanently reduce the amount my wife can get as a spousal benefit even if SHE waits until her full retirement age? Or does her waiting until FRA protect her from my early filing penalty? I've heard conflicting things about this "spousal top-off" calculation and just want to make sure I'm not screwing her over with my decision. Thanks for any help!
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Alice Coleman
Yes, your early filing WILL affect your wife's spousal benefit amount, even if she waits until her FRA to claim. The spousal benefit is based on your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), but if you file early, her maximum spousal benefit will be based on your reduced benefit amount, not what you would have received at your FRA. This is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Social Security planning for couples. Your wife's maximum spousal benefit would be 50% of what your benefit WOULD HAVE BEEN at your FRA, not 50% of what you're actually receiving. But that's only if you wait until your FRA to file. By filing early, you're permanently reducing the base amount her spousal benefit will be calculated from.
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Sofia Price
•Wait I'm confused now. So if I take my benefits at 63 instead of 67, her spousal benefit will be based on my reduced amount? Or based on what I would have gotten at 67? Those seem like opposite statements...
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Owen Jenkins
The previous response contains incorrect information. Your early filing will NOT reduce your wife's spousal benefit calculation. If your wife claims at her FRA, she will receive 50% of your PRIMARY INSURANCE AMOUNT (PIA), which is the benefit amount you would receive at YOUR full retirement age, regardless of when you actually claim. Your decision to take benefits early affects YOUR benefit amount only. It does NOT reduce the PIA upon which your wife's spousal benefit is calculated. This is a common misconception. The key thing to understand is that while your benefit is reduced for claiming early, your PIA (the base amount used for spousal benefits) remains unchanged.
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Sofia Price
•Oh thank goodness! That's what I thought originally but then got confused. So my PIA stays the same no matter when I file, and her spousal benefit will be 50% of MY PIA as long as SHE waits until her FRA? That makes more sense.
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Lilah Brooks
my aunt and uncle had this EXACT situation!!! uncle filed at 62 and aunt waited til her normal retirement age. she still got her full 50% of his full retirement amount even tho he took early benefits. SSA looks at what he WOULD have gotten not what he actually gets!!!!!
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Jackson Carter
•This matches with what I've seen at the SSA. The key concept is that the PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) is the basis for spousal benefits, not the actually-received amount after reductions. As long as the spouse waits until their FRA, they will receive the full 50% of the worker's PIA, regardless of when the worker claimed.
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Kolton Murphy
I've been trying to reach someone at Social Security for THREE WEEKS to ask this exact question!!! Every time I call it's 2+ hour wait times and then they hang up on me. Their website is impossible to navigate and the calculators don't explain this situation clearly. I'm frustrated beyond belief!!
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Evelyn Rivera
•Hey, I was having the same nightmare trying to get through to SSA about my disability review. Someone on another thread recommended this service called Claimyr that gets you through to an agent without the wait. Just used it last week and it worked - got connected to SSA in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The website is claimyr.com if you want to check it out. Saved me a ton of frustration.
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Julia Hall
ppl keep saying different things but whats ur wifes own benefit amount gonna be? cuz she only gets the higher of her own or the spousal, not both added together. lots of ppl dont realize that.
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Sofia Price
•Good point - her own benefit would only be around $900/month at her FRA. So the spousal benefit would definitely be higher. I understand she only gets the higher of the two, not both.
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Lilah Brooks
but what about if you die???? did u think about survivor benifits?? my friend's husband claimed early and now shes stuck with a lower survivor benifit for LIFE. so make sure u think about that too!!!
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Alice Coleman
•This is an excellent point about survivor benefits. If you claim early and then pass away, your wife's survivor benefit would be based on your reduced amount (with some adjustments). For survivor benefits, when you claim DOES matter. Specifically, if you die, your wife would be eligible for a survivor benefit equal to what you were receiving when you died. So filing early reduces not just your benefit but potentially her future survivor benefit. This is different from spousal benefits during your lifetime, which are based on your PIA regardless of when you claim.
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Jackson Carter
Let me offer some clarity here based on current SSA rules. There are TWO different situations being discussed: 1. SPOUSAL BENEFITS while you're both alive: Your wife's spousal benefit will be based on your PIA (full retirement age amount) regardless of when you claim. So claiming early won't reduce her spousal benefit as long as SHE claims at her FRA. 2. SURVIVOR BENEFITS if you pass away: If you claim early and take a reduced benefit, and then pass away, your wife's survivor benefit would generally be based on your actual (reduced) benefit amount. This is why many financial advisors recommend that the higher-earning spouse delay claiming as long as possible, especially if there's a significant age gap or health concerns.
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Sofia Price
•Thank you, this is the clearest explanation I've seen. So for our planning, I need to weigh my need for income now against the potential long-term impact on survivor benefits if I pass away before my wife. The spousal benefit while I'm alive won't be affected by my early claiming, but survivor benefits would be. That gives me something to think about.
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Julia Hall
u should really make an appointment at ur local ss office. better to get the info direct from them than from randos on the internet lol
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Sofia Price
•Haha you're probably right. Just wanted to get some input before I spend half a day waiting at the SSA office. Thanks everyone for the helpful information!
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