How to calculate spousal benefits when my husband filed early at 62 and I'm filing at 63?

The spousal benefit calculation is actually pretty straightforward once you understand it! At your full retirement age, you'd be entitled to 50% of your husband's FRA benefit (so 50% of $2808 = $1404) OR your own benefit, whichever is higher. Since you're taking it early at 63, you'll get a reduced amount of that differential. The reduction is approximately 25/36 of 1% for each month before your FRA for the first 36 months, and 5/12 of 1% for each additional month. Since you're already getting your own reduced benefit ($886), you would receive your benefit plus a supplement to bring you up to the reduced spousal amount. The spousal benefit would be reduced because you're claiming early. The formula would be: (50% of husband's FRA benefit) - (your own FRA benefit) = excess spousal amount. Then reduce that excess amount based on how early you're claiming, and add it to your own reduced benefit.

Had same situation with my wife. You get your benefit PLUS the difference between your benefit and half of his FRA (if that's higher), but BOTH get reduced for taking early. It's confusing!!! SSA doesn't explain it well.

u dont actually get 10% of the difference. The formula is more complex. Basically you get your own benefit PLUS a portion of the difference between your benefit and half of his FRA amount. But since YOUR taking it early at 63 instead of your FRA theres a reduction to that amount. Best to just call SSA directly and ask.

Have you tried using Claimyr to get through to a Social Security agent? I was in the same situation trying to figure out my spousal benefits calculation and kept getting disconnected. A friend recommended Claimyr (claimyr.com) and I got through to an agent in under 5 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. The agent I spoke with walked me through my entire calculation and explained exactly how much I'd receive. Saved me hours of frustration!

Yes, the agent went through everything step by step! They explained that I'd get my own benefit plus a portion of the spousal benefit, and showed exactly how the early filing reduction worked. Much easier than trying to calculate it myself.

Let me clarify the exact calculation for you: 1. Calculate 50% of your husband's FRA benefit: $2,808 × 0.5 = $1,404 2. Compare this to your own FRA benefit of $1,191 3. The difference (excess spousal amount) is $1,404 - $1,191 = $213 4. This excess amount gets reduced because you're claiming at 63, which is 36 months early 5. The reduction is approximately 25% for 36 months early 6. So the reduced excess amount would be around $213 × 0.75 = $159.75 7. This gets added to your own reduced benefit of $886 8. Your total benefit would be approximately $886 + $159.75 = $1,045.75 The SSA will calculate this precisely, but this gives you a good estimate. Remember that the amount will be rounded down to the nearest dollar for payment purposes.

DONT FORGET about the earnings limit if you're still working!!!! If you earn over $21,240 in 2024 (for early retirees), they TAKE BACK $1 for every $2 you earn over the limit. NOBODY TOLD ME and i had to pay back $4,000!!!! Make sure you check this before filing!!!!!

My situation was similar to yours last year. I had to call SSA three different times because I got three different answers about my spousal benefit calculation. The first person said I'd get half of my husband's CURRENT payment (wrong), the second said I'd get a supplement based on his FRA amount but calculated it wrong, and the third finally got it right. Make sure you speak with someone who really understands the spousal benefit rules.

One more important thing to consider - if you're 63 now and claiming, you're permanently locking in this reduced benefit amount. If you have other resources, it might be worth waiting until your FRA to get the full spousal benefit amount. The difference between claiming at 63 vs. FRA could mean thousands of dollars over your lifetime, especially if you have longevity in your family.