Should I take Social Security now at 64 while husband plans to work until 75? Confused about spousal benefits

You've got a few misunderstandings about how Social Security works that I can help clear up. First, your husband working until 75 won't reduce his benefit - actually, it will likely increase it. After FRA (Full Retirement Age), there's no earnings test, so he can earn as much as he wants without reduction. Plus, every year he delays claiming between FRA and 70 adds 8% to his benefit (but no increases after 70). For spousal benefits, you don't have to wait until he retires to claim them. You can claim spousal benefits when your husband files for his own benefits, regardless of whether he's still working. However, if your own benefit is $1,000 and his maximum might be $4,500, your spousal benefit would be $2,250 (50% of his PIA). You'll get the higher of your own benefit or the spousal amount, not both combined. As for whether you should have claimed at 62 - it depends. There's no automatic switch from your benefit to spousal. If you claim your benefit early, it's permanently reduced, and that reduction will affect the total amount when spousal benefits kick in.

my sister waited 2 claim hers and regretted it. take the money now you never know how long youll be around. bird in hand worth 2 in bush.

I'm having a similar issue but reverse - my husband is 64 and I'm 68 still working. The whole spousal benefit thing is SO confusing! From what I understand (and I could be totally wrong), if your own benefit is less than half of your husband's, you'll get your benefit PLUS the difference to reach that 50% mark. Like if his benefit would be $4500, half is $2250. If your benefit is $1000, you'd get your $1000 PLUS $1250 more to reach the $2250. Is that right?? The SSA website makes my head spin!!!

Since your husband is still working and plans to continue until 75, I'd suggest scheduling an appointment with a Social Security representative to run your specific numbers. While general advice is helpful, your situation has several moving parts. One important correction: Your husband should definitely file for his benefits at age 70, even if still working. There's absolutely no advantage to waiting beyond 70 - the delayed retirement credits stop accumulating at that point. Regarding your question about whether to claim now or wait: If your husband hasn't filed for Social Security yet, you can only receive your own retirement benefit now, not spousal benefits. If you claim at 64, your benefit will be permanently reduced by approximately 13.3% from your full retirement age amount. Given the significant difference between your benefit ($1,000) and potentially half of your husband's ($2,250), there might be an advantage to waiting until your full retirement age, when you could get the full spousal benefit without reduction. You might want to try the calculator at ssa.gov/benefits/calculators/ to see how the numbers work in your specific case.

I was in a similar situation last year trying to figure out my SS options and CONSTANTLY got disconnected when calling SSA. After wasting days trying to get through, I found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes. They basically call SSA for you and when they reach an agent, they connect you. Saved me so much frustration! Their site is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I finally spoke with an agent, they ran different scenarios for me and it made my decision so much clearer. For situations like yours with spousal benefits and age differences, talking to an actual SSA representative is really the best way to understand your specific options.

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if you take your own benefit now and then your husband files for his later, you'll automatically be eligible for the increased spousal benefit IF it's more than what you're receiving. But remember that because you took yours early, your spousal benefit will be reduced too! I made this mistake - took mine at 62, then when my husband filed at 66, my spousal increase was a lot less than I expected because of the early claiming reduction. The SSA doesn't exactly advertise how this works!!

The SSA is DELIBERATELY CONFUSING with these rules!! They don't want people to maximize their benefits. My brother-in-law worked for them for 30 years and confirmed they train agents to give minimal info. You need to educate yourself and PUSH for what you deserve. Their website is terrible and the phone lines are understaffed ON PURPOSE!!!

One other important factor to consider: what's your health status and family longevity history? If you expect to live into your 80s or beyond, waiting until your FRA to claim benefits often results in more lifetime benefits. However, if you have health concerns or shorter family longevity, claiming earlier might make more sense. Regarding your husband working until 75 - as others mentioned, he should absolutely file for benefits at 70 even while working. His benefit amount is calculated using his 35 highest-earning years, so if he's earning good money now, each additional high-earning year can replace a lower-earning year in that calculation, potentially increasing his benefit slightly. The most important thing to understand is that if you take your own benefit early (before your FRA), and later switch to a spousal benefit, that spousal benefit will be permanently reduced based on how early you claimed your own benefit. This is a crucial consideration in your decision.

Anyone else notice how the rules seem different depending on which SSA person you talk to? Last time I went to my local office the lady told me one thing, then I called the 800 number and the guy told me something totally different about survivor benefits. So frustrating!

my neighbor started taking ss at 62 and shes happy she did. bought an rv and travels now while shes still young enough to enjoy it. no point waiting til ur too old to have fun!

Thank you all for the advice! I think I'll try to reach SSA using that service someone mentioned because I really need to understand my specific situation. It sounds like I was wrong about several things - especially about my husband needing to stop working to collect benefits. If he can file at 70 while still working, that changes our planning quite a bit. I also didn't realize that taking my benefit early would permanently reduce my spousal benefit later. Lots to think about!