Social Security dilemma: Wait until 70 or claim at retirement when spouse gets $500 raise on spousal benefits?

You're looking at this from the right angle, considering both benefits. The break-even point is important here. If you wait 3.5 years to get $625 more per month, it would take about 7 years of collecting that higher amount to make up for the 3.5 years of missed benefits. BUT - and this is key - you also need to factor in that $500 monthly increase for your wife. Combined, you're missing out on over $1,100/month by waiting.One thing to consider: what happens to your wife if you pass away first? As a survivor, she would receive your full benefit amount. So maximizing your benefit provides better survivor protection for her.

Thank you for that perspective! I hadn't fully considered the survivor benefit angle. If I die first, she'd get my full benefit instead of hers, so maximizing mine provides better long-term security for her. That definitely complicates the calculation.

DONT WAIT!!! The govt wants you to wait so they pay out less overall. My brother waited till 69 to file and then DIED 3 months later!!! All that money he could have been collecting for YEARS just GONE!!!! Take it as soon as you can and enjoy your life. Those SS calculaters dont factor in DYING EARLY!!!!

sorry about your brother but not everyone dies right after claiming! my parents both lived into their 90s so waiting made sense for them financially. each situation different

This is a classic spousal coordination issue I help clients with regularly. Here's how I approach it:1) Calculate total household benefit over your joint life expectancy2) Factor in your current savings withdrawal rate3) Consider your health status and family longevityIn your specific case, you're looking at 42 months of waiting. That's potentially $21,000 in missed spousal benefits, as you noted. For your own benefit, the $625 monthly increase means approximately $7,500 annually. So it would take about 2.8 years after age 70 to break even on your own benefit, but much longer when factoring in the missed spousal amount.If either of you have health concerns or don't have family history of longevity past 80, claiming earlier often makes mathematical sense. Have you run your numbers through a proper Social Security calculator that handles spousal coordination?

I've used some basic calculators but nothing that specifically looks at spousal coordination. Is there a particular calculator you recommend? Both of us are in good health, and longevity runs in both families (parents lived to late 80s/early 90s).

im in sort of the same boat... i kept changing my mind so many times i think the SS office is sick of me lol! originally wanted to wait till 70 but my wife kept saying take it now we could use the money for traveling. ended up filing at 67 and we did a nice alaska cruise with some of the money... no regrets!! btw the SSA phone lines are impossible lately, i spent 3 days trying to get thru when i had questions about my wifes benfeits

If you're having trouble reaching the SSA by phone, check out Claimyr.com - it helped me get through to a real person in under 20 minutes when I was dealing with my own Social Security questions. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Saved me hours of frustration when I needed to discuss my spousal benefit options.

My husband retired at 66 and I was so mad at him for not waiting until 70 because thats what all the financial experts say to do but now I think maybe it was smart because we got to enjoy the money together for a few years before he got sick. Now I'm getting his survivor benefits which are less than they would have been if he waited but we got 4 years of memories so thats worth something too.

I'm so sorry about your husband, but thank you for sharing this perspective. The

Another factor to consider is taxation. If you have other income sources during retirement (401k, pension, part-time work), having both your maximized SS benefit AND your wife's increased spousal benefit could push you into a higher tax bracket. Sometimes taking benefits at different times can help manage your tax liability better over the long term. Have you spoken with a tax professional about this aspect?

That's an excellent point I hadn't considered. I do have a pension from teaching plus my 403(b), and we'll definitely be in a position where a portion of our SS is taxable. I should talk to our accountant about whether staggering the benefits might help with tax management.

just wondering how old is ur wife?? if shes much younger that changes things

She's 64, so only 2 years younger than me. She started taking her own benefit at 62 because her work history is more limited than mine.

Since your wife is already collecting her benefit, there's another crucial detail to verify: make sure her spousal benefit will actually increase by $500. The spousal benefit is generally up to 50% of your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount), but it gets reduced if she started her own benefits early. Has an SSA representative confirmed that specific spousal increase amount for your situation?

Yes, we went to the local SS office about 6 months ago and they ran the calculations. Since her own benefit is relatively small due to years out of the workforce raising our children, even with the reduction for claiming early, the spousal benefit would still give her approximately $500 more monthly than what she's getting now.

One thing NOBODYS talking about - WHAT ABOUT COLA INCREASES??? When you wait to file you miss out on ALL those yearly increases too!!!! My neighbor waited and missed two 8% COLA increases... that adds up to THOUSANDS more he could have gotten!!!

This is incorrect. The COLA increases are applied to your benefit amount even if you haven't started collecting yet. Your benefit at 70 includes all COLAs that occurred between your FRA and 70. You don't miss out on them by waiting.

i just remembered something my financial advisor told me - he said the 8% per year increase stops at age 70 so theres no benefit to waiting after that. so if your retiring at 68.5 your only getting 1.5 years of increases not the full extra years most people think about. just something to keep in mind

That's right, there's no benefit increase for delaying past 70. In my case, I'd be getting 3.5 years of delayed retirement credits if I wait from my retirement at 66.5 until 70. It's the sweet spot of getting the maximum possible benefit.

As someone who's been through this exact decision process, I'd suggest creating a spreadsheet to map out the total household income under both scenarios. When I was deciding between claiming at 67 vs waiting until 70, I found it helpful to calculate the cumulative difference over 5, 10, and 15 year periods. In your case, claiming at 66.5 gives you both benefits starting immediately - your full retirement age benefit plus your wife's $500 spousal increase. That's real money in your pocket for 3.5 years while you wait. The breakeven analysis gets complicated when you factor in the time value of money and what you could do with that extra $500+ monthly. Don't forget to also consider Medicare premiums - they're deducted from your SS benefit, and having that steady income stream can help with budgeting those costs. Since you're retiring from teaching, you probably have good health insurance options, but it's still worth factoring in. The peace of mind of having both benefits flowing can be worth something too. My wife and I decided to claim at full retirement age and we've never regretted having that financial security locked in.