Social Security application timing questions - starting benefits at 65 vs FRA and spousal benefits coordination

For your first question, Social Security benefits always start at the beginning of a month. If your birthday is July 18, you'd technically turn 65 that day, but for SS purposes, you're considered 65 for the ENTIRE month of July. So selecting July would give you your age 65 benefit amount (which is reduced from your FRA amount, by the way). For your wife's situation, if she's at her FRA when applying, she should apply for BOTH benefits simultaneously. The SSA system will automatically give her whichever is higher - her own benefit or the spousal benefit (50% of yours). That's how it worked for my wife and me last year. For the marriage certificate - yes, they'll want to see it for spousal benefits. You can upload it with the online application, but in my experience, it's better to make an appointment and bring it in person so they can verify it on the spot. Otherwise the online application might sit there waiting for manual verification.

My neighbor tried to do the spousal thing online and the SSA website kept glitching!!! She ended up having to call them like 20 times because apparently the system doesn't handle spousal applications well. Just warning you it might be a headache!!!!

To clarify some confusion here: 1) Benefits are paid for the month they're due, but you receive the payment the following month. So if you turn 65 on July 18th and elect July as your start month, you'll receive your first payment in August. The amount will be based on your age 65 reduction factor (which is about 13.3% less than your FRA amount if your FRA is 67). 2) For your wife, the process depends on whether she's already filed for her own benefits: - If she has NEVER filed for her own benefits, at FRA she can file directly for spousal benefits - If she HAS filed for her own reduced benefits earlier, then at FRA she doesn't need to do anything - SSA will automatically adjust to give her the higher amount Regarding the marriage certificate - yes, SSA requires proof of marriage for spousal benefits. You can upload a digital copy during the online application process, but many people report their applications getting stuck in processing when doing this. Having an in-person appointment where they can verify the document on the spot often speeds things up considerably.

I just went through this whole mess last year. Trust me when I say the online system is TERRIBLE for anything complicated like spousal benefits. I tried for weeks and kept getting error messages. Then I tried calling SS but was on hold for literally 2+ hours multiple times only to get disconnected. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes. The agent was able to process my spousal application over the phone and told me exactly what documents they needed. Saved me so much frustration! You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU

Be careful with your birthdates and benefit start dates! I thought I was being smart starting my benefits in my birth month but I messed up and accidentally filed for the month BEFORE my birthday which gave me a permanent reduction I wasn't expecting. SSA let me withdraw my application but only because I caught it within the first 12 months. Double-check EVERYTHING before submitting.

i think everyones missing something important here about the spousel benefets. when your wife aplies at her FRA she gets the MAXIMUM spousal benefit (50% of yours). if she applied earlyer shed get reduced amount. but here's the important part: she only gets the DIFFERENCE between her own benefit and the spousal if her own benefit is less. its not like she gets both added together example: if your benefit is $2000, her spousal benefit would be $1000. but if her own benefit on her record is $800, she only gets an EXTRA $200 to bring her total up to $1000

One other thing nobody mentioned - you should both create your my Social Security accounts online BEFORE you apply. This lets you see your earnings records and benefit estimates, plus it makes the application process much smoother. My wife and I did this about 6 months before we applied and we caught an error in her earnings record that would have reduced her benefit if we hadn't fixed it.

Question for others - I'm in a similar situation but with a larger age gap (I'm 9 years older than my wife). When I apply for my benefits at 67, can my wife immediately apply for spousal even though she's only 58? Or does she have to wait until at least 62? The SSA website is so confusing about this!

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses. I think I understand the process better now: 1) For my application, I'll select July as my start month to begin benefits at age 65. 2) For my wife, she'll wait until her FRA and then apply directly for spousal benefits. 3) We'll need to have our marriage certificate ready, and it sounds like an in-person appointment might be the way to go to avoid delays. I'll definitely look into that Claimyr service if we run into trouble making an appointment or getting through on the phone lines. Thanks again for all the advice!