Should wife take reduced Social Security at 65 while I wait until 70 for maximum benefits?

Your strategy sounds solid. If your wife's benefit is only increasing by $33 between now and her FRA, there's little financial incentive to wait. She should probably take it now. When you claim at 70, she will indeed be eligible for a spousal benefit equal to 50% of your FRA benefit (not your age 70 amount). If that spousal amount is higher than her own benefit, SSA will automatically give her the higher amount. And yes, as a widow, she would receive your full age-70 benefit amount after your passing. One thing to consider: if she claims now and continues working, she may be subject to the earnings test if she makes over $21,240 in 2025 (until she reaches her FRA). For every $2 earned above that limit, SSA withholds $1 in benefits. Just something to keep in mind if she's still working.

my wife did this exact same thing!! took hers at 63 (was like $700) and I waited til 70. worked great for us. she got bumped up to the spousal when i finally filed and now we're set. no regrets

No need to worry! Taking her own benefit early does NOT reduce her eventual spousal benefit. These are calculated separately. If she takes her own benefit early at a reduced rate, when you file at 70, her spousal benefit will still be calculated as 50% of your FRA amount (minus her own FRA benefit amount). She'll receive her reduced benefit plus the additional spousal amount to bring her to the higher level. The only benefit that would be permanently reduced is her own retirement benefit, but since the spousal amount will likely be significantly higher anyway, this reduction becomes irrelevant once you file. For survivor benefits, if you pass away, she would receive your full age-70 benefit amount regardless of when she claimed her own benefit.

DONT TRUST SOCIAL SECURITY!!! they told my sister one thing then did another!! she claimed early and they NEVER told her about spousal benefits being reduced!!! now shes stuck with less money FOREVER!! talk to a REAL financial advisor not these reddit "experts"

Have you actually tried calling the SSA directly to confirm all this? I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through to an agent last month about my widow benefits. Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. So frustrating!

Another consideration is your respective health situations and longevity expectations. The strategy of one spouse waiting until 70 while the other claims earlier works best when: 1. The higher-earning spouse (you) has a good chance of living past the break-even point (usually around 82-83) 2. At least one of you expects to live into your mid-80s or beyond Given the substantial difference between your benefit amounts, maximizing your benefit is crucial since it will eventually become her survivor benefit. This protects her for her entire lifetime after you're gone. Your strategy sounds well-thought-out based on the information provided. The relatively small difference between her reduced benefit now versus at FRA makes waiting those 7 months questionable from a purely financial perspective.

wait I'm confused about something... does she get BOTH her benefit AND half of yours when you file? or just the higher one? i thought it was just whichever is bigger

One more detail to consider: taking her benefit now means 7 months of payments she wouldn't get otherwise. At $642/month, that's about $4,494 total. Compare that to the lifetime reduction of $33/month by claiming early. She would need to live approximately 136 months (over 11 years) beyond her FRA just to break even by waiting those 7 months. From a purely mathematical perspective, claiming now makes sense in her case. The small increase from waiting to FRA doesn't justify the foregone benefits, especially since she'll likely switch to the higher spousal benefit when you claim at 70 anyway.

my mom got widows benefits and they messed up her payments THREE TIMES!! had to keep calling and fixing it. make sure you check EVERY STATEMENT when you get benefits!!!