Social Security spousal benefit timing question - Can wife delay top-up until FRA?
My wife and I are trying to figure out the best claiming strategy for our Social Security benefits. I'm 67 now and planning to wait until 70 to maximize my retirement benefit (about $3,820/month according to my estimates). My wife is younger than me and will be 62 when I turn 70. She wants to claim her own retirement benefit at 62 (about $1,320/month with the reduction). By the time I claim at 70, she'll be just 5 months away from her FRA. Here's what I'm confused about: Will SSA automatically start giving her the spousal top-up benefit when I file at 70, which would be permanently reduced because she's 5 months before FRA? Or can she choose to wait those 5 months until she reaches her FRA to get the full 50% spousal benefit without reduction? I've read conflicting information online and the SSA rep I spoke with seemed uncertain. Anyone with experience on this specific situation?
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Eli Butler
I went through something similar last year. From my experience, they DO NOT automatically start the spousal benefit when your wife becomes eligible. She will need to apply for it. This actually works in your favor because she can choose to wait those 5 months until her FRA to avoid any reduction in the spousal portion. If she applies for the spousal benefit before her FRA, even by just a month, that portion gets permanently reduced. The SSA website doesn't explain this clearly, which is why so many of us get confused!
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Ian Armstrong
•Thank you! That's a huge relief if true. Did you have to do anything special to delay just the spousal portion? I'm worried they might automatically process it when I file.
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Marcus Patterson
wait im confused. does she get both benefits? her own and yours? or do they just give her the difference between the two?
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Lydia Bailey
•Great question. She doesn't get both full benefits added together. When someone qualifies for both their own retirement benefit and a spousal benefit, SSA pays what we call a "combined benefit." Basically, she gets her own benefit plus a top-up amount that brings the total up to what her spousal benefit would be (if that amount is higher than her own benefit). So if her own reduced benefit at 62 is $1,320, and her full spousal benefit would be 50% of her husband's PIA (not his age 70 amount), she'd get a top-up to reach that spousal amount. The key is whether she wants that spousal portion reduced by claiming before FRA or waits the 5 months to get the full amount.
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Mateo Warren
The SSA screwed up my wife's benefits badly. They automatically started her spousal when I filed and it took 9 months to fix it!!! Make sure you talk to a supervisor and get everything in writing!!!
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Sofia Price
•this is why i always tell ppl to record their calls with SSA. they told me one thing over the phone then did something different and denied ever telling me the first thing!
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Alice Coleman
The confusion here stems from how SSA handles deemed filing. Under current rules (for people born after 1/1/1954), when you file for any benefit, you're deemed to have filed for all benefits you're eligible for at that time. However, your wife's situation is unique because she'll file for her retirement before she's eligible for spousal (since you haven't filed yet). When you later file at 70, she'll become eligible for spousal, but it's not automatically applied. She will need to apply for the spousal benefit, and yes, she can choose to wait those 5 months until her FRA to avoid reduction. The spousal top-up amount is permanently reduced only if she applies for it before her FRA. According to POMS GN 00204.035, she has the choice of when to file for the additional spousal benefits after becoming eligible. If she waits those 5 months, her total benefit would be her own reduced retirement ($1,320) plus the unreduced spousal top-up amount.
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Ian Armstrong
•Thank you for the detailed explanation and even citing the POMS reference! I feel much better knowing she can wait those 5 months. One follow-up question: Should she contact SSA when I file at 70 to specifically tell them NOT to process the spousal portion yet, or just wait the 5 months and then apply for it?
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Lydia Bailey
When you file at 70, your wife should contact SSA immediately and clearly state that she wants to delay the spousal application until she reaches her FRA. I'd recommend doing this in writing (through the Message Center in her my Social Security account) and calling to confirm they've documented her request in their system. For anyone dealing with complicated Social Security timing issues and having trouble reaching someone knowledgeable at SSA, I've had good luck using a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com). They help you skip the long hold times and actually get through to an agent. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me hours of frustration when dealing with my own spousal benefit questions.
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Ian Armstrong
•Thank you for the suggestion! I'll make sure she documents her choice in writing. And I might try that Claimyr service - I spent 2+ hours on hold last time I called SSA and then got disconnected.
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Sofia Price
my sister did this exact thing!!! she got her own benefit at 62 then waited til FRA for the spousal part when her husband was already collecting. worked out great for her! just make sure ur wife TELLS them she wants to wait for the spousal or they might just process it automatically
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Ian Armstrong
•That's reassuring to hear it worked for someone in a similar situation! We'll definitely make it clear she wants to wait.
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Owen Jenkins
You might want to run some actual numbers before deciding. 5 months of higher payments might not offset the permanent reduction. Have you calculated both scenarios? Also, everyone's talking about the "full 50%" spousal benefit, but remember that's 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), NOT 50% of your age 70 benefit. Your PIA is what you'd get at your FRA, before any reductions or increases. A lot of people miss that detail and expect more than they actually get.
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Ian Armstrong
•That's a good point about running the numbers. And yes, I understand the spousal benefit is based on my PIA, not my age 70 amount. My PIA is around $2,900, so her full spousal benefit would be about $1,450. Since her own reduced benefit will be $1,320, the spousal top-up would only be about $130 monthly. Still, getting the full amount versus a reduced amount over many years could make a difference.
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Marcus Patterson
my head hurts trying to understand all this ss stuff lol good luck
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Alice Coleman
Based on your follow-up with the actual benefit amounts, let me add some precision. If your PIA is $2,900 and your wife's reduced age 62 benefit is $1,320: 1. If she takes the spousal top-up 5 months before FRA, the spousal portion would be reduced by approximately 2.1% (0.42% per month × 5 months). 2. Her full spousal benefit would be $1,450 (50% of your $2,900 PIA) 3. With the 5-month reduction, her spousal portion would be about $1,420 instead of $1,450 4. Since she already receives $1,320 from her own record, the reduced top-up would be about $100/month instead of $130/month So the question becomes: Is waiting 5 months for an extra $30/month for the rest of her life worth giving up 5 months of receiving $100/month? The break-even point would be around 17 years.
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Ian Armstrong
•Thank you for doing that math! That really helps put it in perspective. Since my wife is in good health and her family tends to be long-lived, waiting the 5 months probably makes sense for her. Really appreciate everyone's insights on this!
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