Social Security spousal benefit strategy - wait for my FRA or claim early while husband keeps working?
Hey SS benefit experts - trying to figure out the best strategy for my husband and me. We're approaching retirement age (I'm 65, he's just a month older) and I'm confused about what makes the most financial sense. Here's our situation: My husband has been the higher earner and qualifies for about $3,200/month at his FRA of 67. I've worked enough quarters to qualify on my own record, but my benefit would only be around $1,250/month at my FRA (66.8). I was planning to wait until my full retirement age, but now I'm second-guessing. Should I: 1. Take my own reduced benefit now while my husband continues working? 2. Wait until my FRA to get my full benefit amount? 3. Wait even longer for husband to file at his FRA and then take a spousal benefit if it's higher? The part that really confuses me is whether my eventual benefit amount could increase if I wait until after my husband files. Will my amount get "bumped up" if I wait and claim as a spouse instead of on my own record? He wants to continue working past his FRA, and I'm trying to maximize what we'll get. Thanks for any guidance!
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Charlee Coleman
At your FRA, you'd be eligible for either 100% of your own benefit ($1,250) OR up to 50% of your husband's FRA benefit (which would be $1,600 based on his $3,200). You'd get the higher of those two amounts, not both. If you claim before your FRA, both your own benefit AND any potential spousal benefit would be permanently reduced. Your spousal benefit is only available after your husband files for his benefits. In your situation, waiting until your FRA and then taking the spousal benefit when your husband files would likely maximize your lifetime benefits.
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Sara Hellquiem
•Thank you! So if I understand correctly, if I wait until my FRA (66.8), I could eventually get $1,600 as a spouse once my husband files? And that would be more than my own $1,250? But if I take my own benefit early at 65, both amounts would be permanently reduced?
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Liv Park
take yours now! thats what i did. bird in hand better than waiting. you'll get less but you'll be getting something now instead of nothign. my sister waited and now wishes she hadnt
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Leeann Blackstein
•This is actually not good advice for many people. Each month you wait between 62 and FRA increases your benefit about 0.5%. And if the spousal benefit ends up higher, waiting until both your FRA and your husband filing maximizes that too.
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Ryder Greene
I was in almost the exact same situation last year! The key thing to understand is that there are two separate calculations: your own benefit (which gets reduced if you claim early) and the spousal benefit (which ALSO gets reduced if you claim it before your FRA, even if your husband waited for his). I ended up waiting until my FRA, and then when my husband claimed at his FRA, I got the spousal benefit which was about $300 more per month than my own. If I had claimed early, BOTH amounts would have been permanently reduced. Plus, if your husband is still working, your combined income might cause more of your SS benefits to be taxed if you claim now.
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Sara Hellquiem
•This is SO helpful to hear from someone who was in my shoes! I think I was getting confused about how the spousal benefit works. I didn't realize the timing of when I claim affects BOTH my own benefit AND any future spousal benefit. That definitely makes me lean toward waiting.
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Carmella Fromis
SSA rules are SO CONFUSING!!! I got totally different answers from two different SSA agents when I called about almost the same question!!! One told me to take early and another said wait. How can they not even know their own rules?!! I've been on hold for HOURS trying to get clarification and they just disconnect me!!!
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Theodore Nelson
•I had the same experience trying to call SSA about my disability benefits. After being disconnected three times and waiting on hold for over 2 hours each time, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me so much frustration when I was trying to sort out my benefits situation.
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AaliyahAli
congrats on qualifying for your own benefit! my wife never worked enough so she only gets spousal. wish we had your options lol
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Charlee Coleman
One more important thing to consider: if your husband continues working while receiving benefits before his FRA, he may be subject to the earnings limit ($21,240 in 2025). If he earns over that amount, SSA will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 earned above the limit. After FRA, there's no earnings limit, so he can earn any amount without reduction in benefits. This is another reason many couples in your situation choose to have the lower-earning spouse wait until FRA, and then the higher earner can either work longer without claiming (to build up delayed retirement credits) or claim at their FRA if they want to continue working without worrying about the earnings test.
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Sara Hellquiem
•I didn't even think about the earnings limit! He definitely makes well above that amount, so it sounds like he should definitely wait until his FRA to claim. Thank you for pointing this out!
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Leeann Blackstein
Not sure if this applies to your situation, but don't forget that if one of you passes away, the survivor gets the higher of either their own benefit or their deceased spouse's benefit. Since your husband is the higher earner, maximizing his benefit also creates a higher survivor benefit for you if he passes away first.
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Ryder Greene
•This is such an important point that often gets overlooked! My financial advisor specifically mentioned this as a reason for the higher earner to delay as long as possible - it's like building in extra insurance for the surviving spouse.
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Sara Hellquiem
Thank you all for the helpful advice! I think I'm going to wait until my FRA and have my husband wait until his FRA too before claiming. From what everyone has explained, this seems like the best way to maximize both our current benefits and protect me with a higher survivor benefit if needed in the future. Really appreciate all the insights!
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Charlee Coleman
•Sounds like a solid plan based on what you've shared. One last suggestion - schedule an appointment with SSA about 3 months before your FRA to confirm everything. Benefit calculations can have unique factors based on your specific earnings record that might affect the final amounts.
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Liv Park
make sure u check what happens if u take urs now and then switch to spousal later when he files. my brother in law did that and got more $ overall. its called restricted application i think?
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Charlee Coleman
•Important clarification: Restricted applications are only available to people born before January 2, 1954. Based on the FRA mentioned (66.8), the original poster was born after that date and doesn't qualify for this strategy. This is why getting accurate information is so important - rules change and not all strategies are available to everyone.
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