How to find my original FRA benefit amount for calculating spousal benefits?

just take ur current benefit and divide by 1.128, thats the 8% per year increase for delaying 1 yr 8 months past ur FRA

To find your benefit amount at Full Retirement Age (FRA), you have a few options: 1. Check your Social Security Statement online in your my Social Security account. Under "Your Benefit Estimate" it should show what you would have received at FRA. Even though you're already collecting, your past statements should be available in the portal. 2. If you can't locate it online, you can calculate it backwards. Since you delayed 20 months (from 66+4 months to 68), you received delayed retirement credits of approximately 13.33% (8% per year or 2/3% per month). Take your current benefit and divide by 1.1333 to get your FRA amount. 3. You can request a Benefits Verification Letter through your online account or by visiting/calling an SSA office. This letter should specify your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount), which is your benefit at FRA. Your wife would receive 50% of your FRA amount (not your increased amount), assuming she files at her own FRA. If she files early, her spousal benefit would be reduced.

My husband and I just went through this exact same headache last month!! The SSA website is SO confusing about this stuff. We ended up having to go to our local office in person and wait for 3 hours!!! The agent told us my spousal benefit would be reduced by 30% because I was taking it 5 years early (I'm 62, FRA is 67). They have some complicated formula where you lose like 25/36 of a percent for each month for the first 36 months early and then 5/12 of a percent for each additional month. Totally ridiculous system if you ask me!!

Instead of trying to calculate it yourself, you might want to just ask the SSA directly for your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). That's the technical term for your benefit at FRA, and it's what's used to calculate spousal benefits. I was in a similar situation trying to help my parents figure this out. After getting disconnected multiple times calling the regular SSA number, I discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in under 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I got through, the agent was able to tell me the exact PIA amount immediately. Saved me from doing all those calculations and potentially getting it wrong. The agent can also tell your wife exactly what her spousal benefit would be at different ages.

does it matter that much? whatever she gets is what she gets they make the calculation not you lol

I know exactly what you're going through! Been there done that! When I was trying to figure this out for my wife, I about pulled my hair out. The statements are SO confusing!! One thing nobody mentioned yet - did you save ANY of your old Social Security statements from BEFORE you started collecting? They used to mail them every year, and those would show your FRA amount. I found an old one in my filing cabinet from 2018 and it had exactly what I needed!

For accuracy in planning, there's an important distinction to understand: Your wife's spousal benefit is based on your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit amount you would receive at your Full Retirement Age. This is true regardless of when you actually claimed benefits. If you delayed claiming until age 68, your actual benefit includes Delayed Retirement Credits (DRCs), but these DRCs do NOT increase the spousal benefit amount. Your wife's maximum spousal benefit will be 50% of your PIA if she claims at her FRA. If she claims before her FRA, her spousal benefit will be permanently reduced. At age 62, assuming her FRA is 67, the reduction would be approximately 35%, meaning she'd get about 32.5% of your PIA instead of the full 50%. The calculation method provided by earlier commenters (dividing your current benefit by the DRC factor) is correct for estimating your PIA from your current benefit amount.

my wifes gettin 1200 from my record and i only worked 25 yrs before gettin disabled so yours will probly be way more

One additional tip: When you do call SSA (or use a service to help you get through), ask specifically for your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) as well as your wife's options at different claiming ages. Get the agent to explain: 1. Your PIA (benefit at FRA) 2. What your wife would get if claiming at her age 62 3. What she would get if waiting until her FRA 4. If she has her own work record, whether it's better for her to claim her own benefit or the spousal benefit 5. How the Government Pension Offset (GPO) might affect her if she has a government pension You may want to request that they send you a letter documenting this information for your records. This helps with your planning and prevents misunderstandings about benefit amounts.

I went through this same situation a few years ago! One thing that really helped me was logging into my Social Security account and looking under the "Review your full Social Security Statement" section. Even though you're already collecting benefits, your historical statements from previous years should still be available there, and those would show your estimated benefit at FRA before you actually started collecting. Also, if you're having trouble getting through to SSA by phone, try calling first thing in the morning (like 8 AM) or late in the afternoon. I found the wait times were much shorter then. When you do get through, make sure to ask for your "Primary Insurance Amount" or "PIA" - that's the magic phrase that gets them to give you exactly what you need for spousal benefit calculations. Good luck with everything! The system is definitely confusing but once you get that PIA number, the rest of the math is pretty straightforward.

I work as a benefits counselor and see this confusion all the time! Here's the easiest way to get your exact PIA without all the calculations: Log into your my Social Security account and look for "View Benefit Verification Letter" under the "Replacement Documents" section. This letter will show your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) clearly labeled. It's the official document SSA uses and it's much more reliable than trying to calculate backwards from your current benefit. If you can't find it there, you can also request a "Social Security Benefit Statement" which will break down all your benefit amounts including your PIA. Once you have that number, your wife's spousal benefit calculation is straightforward: - 50% of your PIA if she claims at her FRA (67) - About 32.5% of your PIA if she claims at 62 (35% reduction) The key thing to remember is that your delayed retirement credits don't affect her spousal benefit at all - it's always based on your PIA, not your actual benefit amount.

I've been helping my elderly neighbors with their Social Security questions for years, and this is such a common issue! One thing I learned from an SSA representative is that you can also call and specifically ask them to mail you a "Detailed Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement" which shows your complete benefit history including your PIA. Sometimes it's easier to have the physical document in hand rather than trying to navigate the online portal. The representative can usually tell you over the phone too, but having it in writing helps when you're doing financial planning with your wife. Also, just a heads up - if your wife has her own work record, make sure to compare her own retirement benefit to the spousal benefit. She'll automatically get whichever is higher, but it's good to know both amounts when planning. The SSA can run both calculations for you in the same call. Hope this helps and good luck getting through to them! Persistence definitely pays off with SSA.

I'm dealing with this exact same situation right now! My husband delayed his benefits until 70, and I've been trying to figure out my spousal benefit options. After reading through all these helpful responses, I wanted to add that I found success by going to my local SSA office during their slower times (mid-week, mid-morning). The in-person visit was worth it because the representative was able to pull up both our records simultaneously and explain everything clearly. She showed me exactly where the PIA was listed in the system and even printed out a summary sheet with all the different scenarios - what I'd get at 62, at my FRA, and how it compared to my own work record. One thing she mentioned that I don't see discussed much here: if you're married and both of you are collecting benefits, there are some timing strategies that might optimize your combined benefits. Definitely worth asking about during your call or visit! The math everyone provided looks correct, but getting that official PIA number from SSA directly gives you peace of mind that you're working with the right figures for such an important financial decision.

As someone who just went through this process myself, I can definitely relate to the frustration! Here's what worked for me: I found my PIA by logging into my Social Security account and downloading the "Social Security Statement" from a year BEFORE I started collecting benefits. Those older statements clearly show your estimated benefit at Full Retirement Age. If you can't find those online, another option is to request your "Complete Earnings Record" through the SSA website - this shows your entire work history and benefit calculations including your PIA. It takes about 2-3 weeks to arrive by mail, but it's comprehensive and official. Also, when calculating your wife's potential spousal benefit, don't forget that if she has her own Social Security record, she'll get the HIGHER of either her own benefit or the spousal benefit (50% of your PIA), not both. Many people assume it's additive, but it's actually a comparison. One last tip - if your wife is considering claiming at 62, also factor in that she won't be able to switch strategies later. Once she files for spousal benefits early, that reduction is permanent, even when she reaches her own FRA. Good luck with your planning!