Social Security spousal benefits question - retire at 60 vs 62 when husband earns more?

First, understand that the earliest you can claim Social Security retirement benefits is age 62, regardless of when you stop working. Your company supplement is separate from Social Security. At 62, you'll face a roughly 30% reduction in benefits versus waiting until your Full Retirement Age (probably 67 for you). As for spousal benefits, you can't claim those until your husband files for his own benefits, and you'd receive up to 50% of his FRA benefit (less if you claim before your own FRA). Given your family longevity concerns, claiming at 62 might make sense, but run the numbers carefully. Use the calculators on ssa.gov to see exact figures for different scenarios.

my mom was in kinda similar situation... she took her own benefit at 62 then when dad retired at 66 she switched to spousal. worked out ok for them but mom always complained about how small her check was those first few years!!!

This is a complex question and I've been exactly where you are. Given your family longevity history, maximizing benefits in your 60s rather than waiting for larger benefits in your 70s makes mathematical sense. One thing to consider: if you retire at 60 but delay claiming SS until 62, those two years of zero income will be part of your benefit calculation (SSA uses your highest 35 years of earnings). This might lower your own benefit slightly. For spousal benefits, the calculation gets tricky. You'll always get the higher of either your own benefit or up to 50% of your husband's FRA amount (reduced if you claim early). Since he earns significantly more, the spousal route likely gives you more eventually. In your shoes, I'd probably retire at 60 with the supplement, claim my own benefit at 62, then when husband files, automatically get bumped up to the higher spousal amount if applicable.

YOU CAN'T GET SS AT 60!!!! Earliest is 62!!! Don't listen to bad advice!!! And they PUNISH you for taking it early - I got 28% LESS than full amount because I couldn't wait. And spousal is COMPLICATED - they don't explain it well and the SSA website is USELESS for figuring this out!!!

I had a similar situation where my husband earned way more than me. What nobody told me: when you take spousal benefits, they don't just give you 50% of your husband's benefit. They give you your own benefit PLUS whatever additional amount gets you to the spousal level. Example: If your benefit at 62 is $800 and 50% of your husband's FRA benefit is $1500, you don't get $1500. You get your $800 plus $700 to reach the $1500. Also, once your husband passes away (sorry to be morbid), you'd get his full benefit amount as a survivor benefit (with reductions if you claim before your FRA). Given your family history, I think claiming at 62 makes sense for you.

After spending WEEKS trying to get through to someone at Social Security to ask almost this exact question last year, I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in under 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with was really helpful and ran several calculations for me on the spot comparing early retirement vs waiting. Given your specific situation with the family longevity concerns, I'd definitely recommend talking directly with SSA about exact numbers for your case before deciding.

my 2 cents - enjoy life NOW. my sister waited to retire "to get maximum SS" and passed at 67 before ever collecting a dime! with your family history, retiring at 60 sounds smart. the financial difference over time might not be as big as people think when u factor in actually GETTING the money for more years.

One more important point: once you reach your Full Retirement Age, the earnings limit no longer applies. Before FRA, if you work and earn above certain limits ($21,240 in 2025), your benefits are reduced by $1 for every $2 you earn above the limit. If your husband plans to continue working while collecting, this could impact his benefits until he reaches FRA. And since spousal benefits are tied to when he files, this becomes part of your calculation too. For the most precise information, create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov to see your exact benefit estimates at various claiming ages.