Social Security reduced my spousal benefit but kept total payment the same - what percentage should I get?

This is a common occurrence with spousal benefits. When your own benefit increases (maybe from those part-time earnings being added to your record or from a COLA adjustment), the spousal portion has to decrease to maintain the proper total. The maximum spousal benefit is 50% of your spouse's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is what they would get at Full Retirement Age. Since you both claimed early, there are reductions applied. Your total benefit should equal the higher of either your own benefit or the reduced spousal benefit amount.

same thing happened to my sister last year! the gov is always moving money around to confuse us seniors. i dont trust any of those adjustments they make

Let me explain how this works with spousal benefits: 1. You're entitled to the higher of either 100% of your own benefit OR up to 50% of your spouse's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) 2. Since you claimed at 63, your own benefit is reduced (roughly 80% of what you'd get at Full Retirement Age) 3. Your spousal benefit is also reduced for claiming early 4. The way SSA calculates this is: they figure out your reduced spousal benefit, then subtract your own reduced benefit, and pay you the difference as the "spousal portion" 5. If your own benefit increases (from recent earnings, COLA, etc.), the difference (spousal portion) naturally decreases What probably happened is those 6 years of part-time work improved your own benefit calculation. This is actually good news - it means your work history is contributing more to your benefit amount.

When I had this issue, I spent WEEKS trying to get someone at SSA to explain. Kept getting busy signals and disconnects. Finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a real agent who explained everything. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me so much frustration!

i think ure looking at it wrong. the TOTAL is what matters, not how they split it up on paper. SSA does this ALL THE TIME. they increase one part and decrease another part. its all accounting tricks to save money somewhere else. you should check if you REALLY got the right COLA this year, thats where they usually cheat us!!!

To answer your specific question about percentages: At age 63, your own benefit would be reduced to about 80% of your PIA. For the spousal benefit, the maximum you can get is 50% of your spouse's PIA, but that gets reduced for taking it early. Since you took spousal benefits at 63, you'd receive approximately 37.5-40% of your spouse's PIA (rather than the full 50%). But remember - what you actually receive as the "spousal portion" is the difference between your total entitled benefit and your own earned benefit. So if your earned benefit goes up, the "spousal portion" goes down, but the total should remain correct according to the formula. If you want to verify the calculation is correct, I'd recommend creating an account at my.ssa.gov if you haven't already, or calling SSA directly (though be prepared for long wait times).

My late husband's cousin just went through something similar! The SSA does make mistakes sometimes. In her case, they actually had her birthdate wrong which affected the calculation. Definitely worth double-checking everything on your record. Have you created your mySocialSecurity account online? That's where you can verify all your earnings history.

This is completely normal. Your own benefit is called your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). The spousal benefit is a supplement that ensures you get the higher of: your own benefit OR up to 50% of your spouse's PIA (reduced for early claiming). The adjustment happens automatically when your own benefit changes. Nothing to worry about!

Based on your situation, here's what likely happened: 1. When you initially filed, you received your reduced retirement benefit plus a spousal add-on to reach your total entitled amount 2. Those 6 years of part-time work were recently added to your earnings record during an automatic recomputation 3. This increased your own benefit amount based on those additional earnings 4. Since your total entitlement remained the same, the spousal portion decreased accordingly This is working correctly. The formula ensures you receive the correct total amount you're entitled to, regardless of how it's divided between your own benefit and the spousal supplement.

As someone who went through a similar situation recently, I can confirm this is completely normal! What helped me understand it better was thinking of it this way: Social Security essentially guarantees you the higher of two amounts - either 100% of your own benefit OR the spousal benefit (up to 50% of your spouse's PIA, reduced for early claiming). When your own benefit increases due to additional earnings being factored in, it doesn't mean you get "extra" money on top of the spousal benefit. Instead, since your own benefit went up, less of a spousal supplement is needed to reach your total entitled amount. It's like they're constantly rebalancing the two components to ensure you get exactly what you're entitled to under the law. The good news is that your work history is now contributing more meaningfully to your benefit! Even though the total didn't change this time, having a higher own benefit amount could be beneficial for future adjustments and provides a stronger foundation for your Social Security record.

I just went through something very similar last month! The key thing to understand is that Social Security uses what's called a "dual entitlement" system. You're not getting two separate benefits - you're getting the higher of either your own benefit OR the spousal benefit calculation. When your own benefit increases (likely from those part-time earnings being added to your record), the system automatically recalculates to make sure you're still getting the correct total amount. The spousal portion isn't a fixed percentage - it's whatever additional amount is needed to bring you up to your full entitlement. So if you were entitled to, say, $1,500 total, and your own benefit went from $800 to $900, then your spousal add-on would decrease from $700 to $600 to keep your total at $1,500. This is exactly what should happen according to Social Security rules. The confusing part is how they present it on the statements, but mathematically it's working correctly. Your total benefit amount is what matters most!

I experienced this exact same situation about 6 months ago and it really threw me for a loop initially! What you're seeing is actually a positive development - it means your work record has been updated to reflect those part-time earnings from your last 6 years of work. Here's what's happening: Social Security recalculates your benefit annually based on your highest 35 years of earnings. When those recent part-time years got factored into your calculation, it boosted your own Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Since the spousal benefit formula ensures you get the higher of either your own benefit OR up to 50% of your spouse's PIA (both reduced for early claiming), the system automatically adjusted the split. Think of it like this - you have a "benefit ceiling" based on the spousal calculation. Your own benefit just got closer to that ceiling, so less spousal supplement is needed to reach your total entitled amount. The total staying the same confirms everything is working correctly. I'd recommend keeping your latest benefit statement for your records, and if you want peace of mind, you can always request a detailed benefit calculation from SSA. But based on what you've described, this sounds like a routine and correct adjustment!