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.

I went through this exact calculation last year and found the SSA's online benefit estimator to be really helpful as a double-check. You can log into your my Social Security account and use their calculator to estimate your spousal benefits based on different claiming ages. It won't give you the exact penny amount, but it should be close to what Pedro calculated for you ($1,045). I also recommend getting your calculation in writing from SSA when you do finally speak with them - either through their online messaging system or ask them to mail you a letter confirming the amounts. That way you have documentation if there are any discrepancies later.

I just want to echo what others have said about getting everything in writing from SSA. When I was going through my spousal benefit calculation, I actually had two different agents give me slightly different numbers (within about $10 of each other, but still). What helped me was asking the agent to walk through each step of the calculation while I took notes, and then I requested a follow-up letter confirming the final amounts. Also, if you do end up using a service like Claimyr to get through faster, make sure to have all your documents ready - your husband's Social Security statement showing his FRA benefit amount, your own benefit information, and your exact birth dates. Having everything organized made the call much more efficient and the agent was able to give me a more precise calculation on the spot. One last tip - if your calculated amount seems off when you start receiving payments, don't hesitate to question it. I've seen several people in online forums discover errors in their initial payments that were corrected with back-pay once they brought it to SSA's attention.

As someone who just went through this process a few months ago, I want to add one more consideration that helped me make the final decision. Since you mentioned you enjoy figuring out the exact math, you might want to calculate the "break-even" point for your specific situation. In my case, I compared the total lifetime benefits from claiming at 63 versus waiting until FRA. The calculation showed that if I lived past age 81, waiting would have been better financially. But like you, I needed the income sooner due to circumstances. Also, don't forget that your spousal benefit will receive cost-of-living adjustments (COLAs) just like your regular benefit. So that ~$1,045 total monthly amount that Pedro calculated will increase each year with inflation adjustments. One thing that surprised me was how quickly the paperwork moved once I had all the correct calculations. The whole process took about 6 weeks from application to first payment. Make sure to apply about 3 months before you want payments to start to account for processing time. Good luck with everything - it sounds like you've got a good handle on the math now!

I'm new to this community and currently researching Social Security benefits for my own situation. This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm impressed by how thoroughly everyone has explained the spousal benefit calculations - Pedro's step-by-step breakdown was particularly clear, and I love how Kara asked all the detailed questions I would have asked. I'm wondering if anyone has experience with how the calculation works when both spouses have significant earnings records but one is much higher than the other? My situation is similar but my husband and I both had decent careers, so I'm trying to figure out if I'll qualify for any spousal benefit at all or if my own benefit will be too close to 50% of his FRA amount. Also, has anyone noticed if the SSA agents are generally more knowledgeable about spousal benefits now than they were a few years ago? Some of the comments about getting different answers from different agents are concerning, but I'm hoping the training has improved.

Maya, welcome to the community! To answer your question about dual high earners - if your own benefit is already close to 50% of your husband's FRA amount, you probably won't get much additional spousal benefit. The formula is the same as what Pedro laid out earlier: you get the higher of either your own benefit OR 50% of his FRA benefit, not both added together. For example, if your husband's FRA benefit is $3,000 and yours is $1,400, you'd only get a small spousal supplement since 50% of his ($1,500) minus your benefit ($1,400) = just $100 extra (before any early filing reductions). As for SSA agent knowledge - I've found it really varies by individual agent. I've had some who were incredibly knowledgeable about complex scenarios and others who seemed to only know the basic rules. My advice is to always ask them to walk through the calculation step by step and don't hesitate to call back if something doesn't sound right. Getting a second opinion never hurts with something this important to your financial future! The good news is that with dual careers, you're probably in a stronger position overall even without significant spousal benefits.