Should my spouse claim Social Security at FRA while still working or wait for higher benefits?

we did the same thing last yr, my wife took SS at FRA while still working full time. no regrets! we paid off our credit cards and put a new roof on the house. her check was like $2200 and it made a HUGE difference

This is actually a common question I see. At FRA, there's no earnings limit penalty, so she can collect her full benefit while still working. However, you should consider these factors: 1. Taxation - up to 85% of SS benefits can be taxable if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds 2. The 8% per year delayed retirement credits until age 70 are guaranteed increases you can't get elsewhere 3. If your wife is the higher earner, delaying could also maximize potential survivor benefits later If eliminating debt quickly is your priority and you've run the numbers on the tax implications, claiming now can make sense. But mathematically, waiting usually provides more lifetime benefits if you both have average or above-average life expectancies.

I waited until 70 and I REGRET IT SO MUCH!!! I could have had that money for THREE YEARS and instead I listened to a financial advisor who said to wait. Now I'm 72 and realized I lost out on like $70,000 that I'll never get back. It takes YEARS to break even! If you need the money NOW, take it NOW!!!

I've been in your exact situation last year. Tried calling SSA for weeks to discuss my options but kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with helped me understand my specific tax situation and how starting benefits while working would affect me. For us, it made sense to start collecting at FRA even while working because we wanted to pay off our mortgage before fully retiring.

My sister started collecting at FRA and kept working part time. She said it really depends on how healthy you are and family history. Do you have longevity genes? Wait if you can. Need money now? Take it. Simple.

Everyone here is making it so complicated! It's really just simple math. Figure out how much extra she'll get monthly by waiting (probably around $300-400/month based on average benefits). Calculate how many months of higher payments it would take to make up for the payments she skips now. Usually around 12 years to break even. Will she live 12+ years past 70? If yes, waiting is better. If no or you need money now, take it at FRA. Done!

Thank you all for the thoughtful responses! I'm definitely seeing this isn't as straightforward as I initially thought. We'll need to consider the survivor benefit angle since my wife is the higher earner, plus look more carefully at the tax implications of claiming while she's still working. I think we'll try to get professional advice on our specific situation before deciding.

One strategy to consider: If debt elimination is your priority, your wife could file for benefits now, direct all of that money to debt payoff, then once the debt is cleared (probably in about 10-12 months based on your numbers), she could actually suspend her benefits until age 70. This is called "voluntary suspension" and it's available once you've reached FRA. During suspension, she would earn the same 8% per year delayed retirement credits for any suspended months. This gives you a bit of both worlds - some cash now for debt payoff and still some increased monthly amount later. Just make sure you understand that during suspension, any benefits based on her record (like spousal benefits) would also be suspended.

btw dont forget about taxes!!!! when my wife took SS and was still working we got hit with a big tax bill that april, almost 30% of her SS was taxed!

Can I just say how frustrating it is that we have to make these complicated financial decisions? The whole system is designed to confuse seniors imho