Should my husband claim Social Security at 63 instead of FRA with all the government uncertainty?

TAKE THE MONEY NOW!!!! I waited till 65 to file and regret it EVERY SINGLE DAY. The politicians are gonna gut the system and we'll all be left with NOTHING. Bird in hand is worth two in the bush. My brother started at 62 and he's already collected over $60K that I'll never see. Don't trust the govt with YOUR money.

I understand your anxiety, but claiming decisions shouldn't be based on political fears. The math strongly favors waiting if your husband is in good health and has average/above-average life expectancy. At his current age, he's taking a permanent 20-25% reduction by filing now. The break-even point is usually around age 80 - if he lives past that, waiting provides more total benefits over your lifetimes. Also, don't forget about survivor benefits - if he's the higher earner and predeceases you, your eventual survivor benefit will be based on HIS claiming amount (including any reductions).

my husbands friend took ss at 62 and went back to work part time at lowes and they take back some of his money when he goes over the limit... make sure u check the earnings limit if ur husband might still work. its like $21k or something before they start taking a dollar for every 2 dollars u earn

I was in a similar situation last year - husband was 64, I was still working, and we were worried about SS. After trying for weeks to get through to SSA to discuss options (seriously, I couldn't get anyone on the phone!), I found this service called Claimyr that got me connected to a Social Security agent in under 10 minutes. The agent walked through our whole situation, ran the numbers, and showed us how much we'd lose by claiming early. That conversation completely changed our strategy. Check out their video to see how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU or visit claimyr.com - saved us from making a $40K+ mistake based on fear rather than facts.

my 2 cents - life is short! take the $$ and enjoy it. me and the wife both filed at 62 and we've had 5 great years of enjoying life. we've traveled and helped our grandkids with college. no regrets here.

Let's look at this mathematically rather than emotionally: 1. At 63.5, your husband faces approximately a 22% permanent reduction from his FRA benefit amount 2. The typical break-even age is around 80-82, meaning if he lives beyond that age, waiting provides more lifetime income 3. As the presumably higher earner, his benefit amount will determine your eventual survivor benefit 4. Political risks to Social Security are real but often exaggerated - any changes would likely be phased in gradually and protect those near retirement 5. Since you're still working, you have income flexibility that many don't have If your husband is in good health and you have sufficient other assets to delay, the mathematically optimal choice in most cases is to wait. However, if you have health concerns or immediate cash flow needs, early filing might make sense. This isn't a one-size-fits-all decision.

Husband and I were in EXACT same boat 2 years ago. He filed early at 63 and we've been loving the extra income! Just be aware that if you're on his insurance and he's not yet 65, filing for SS might affect his employer benefits. That caught us by surprise.

One other consideration that often gets overlooked: tax implications. If your combined income is moderate to high, up to 85% of Social Security benefits can be taxable. Have you talked with a tax professional about how claiming now vs. later might affect your overall tax situation? Sometimes waiting and doing strategic Roth conversions during the gap years can provide tax benefits that outweigh the immediate cash flow from early claiming.

After reading all these comments, it sounds like you'd really benefit from getting a personalized analysis of your situation from SSA directly. When I finally got through to them after using Claimyr, the agent ran several different claiming scenarios specifically for our financial situation. They showed us the lifetime benefit totals under different life expectancy assumptions. For a decision this important affecting potentially hundreds of thousands in lifetime benefits, it's worth getting expert advice tailored to your specific circumstances rather than general opinions.

did u check what ur spousal benefit would be when u retire?? my friend got more from her husbands record than her own even tho she worked 30 years