Social Security timing dilemma at 63 with ex-spousal benefits - worth taking early?

The first thing you need to determine is which benefit would be higher - your own retirement benefit or your ex-spousal benefit. At FRA, the ex-spousal benefit would be 50% of your ex-husband's PIA (Primary Insurance Amount). Since he waited until 70, his actual benefit is higher than his PIA due to delayed retirement credits, but your spousal benefit is based on his PIA, not his increased benefit amount. If your own retirement benefit at FRA ($2,250) is higher than 50% of his PIA, then you'll receive your own benefit. If the ex-spousal is higher, you'll get that. If you claim early at 63, your own retirement benefit would be reduced by about 25% from that $2,250 (to approximately $1,687). Similarly, the ex-spousal benefit would be reduced if claimed early. The breakeven age is typically around 80 - meaning if you live beyond that, you'd collect more in total by waiting to claim at FRA than by claiming early.

i took mine at 62 and NEVER regretted it!! life is short and that money helped me quit a job i hated. my sister waited till 70 and passed at 74 so she only got 4 yrs of checks. nobody knows how long we got left!!

I'm a financial planner who specializes in retirement planning, and I see this situation frequently. Here's what I'd consider in your position: 1. First, you need accurate benefit estimates. Create a my Social Security account online and verify your own primary insurance amount (PIA) at FRA. For your ex-spouse benefit estimate, call SSA directly - they can tell you what you'd receive at different claiming ages. 2. Consider your health and family longevity. Early claiming makes more sense if you have health concerns or shorter family longevity. 3. Calculate your "income gap" - the difference between your essential expenses and guaranteed income (rental income, etc.). If your gap is covered without Social Security, early claiming becomes more viable. 4. Don't forget about the earnings test if you continue working. In 2025, if you're under FRA and earn more than $22,750, SSA will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that limit. This gets recalculated when you reach FRA, but it's a near-term consideration. 5. Tax implications - additional income could push you into a higher tax bracket and potentially make more of your SS benefits taxable. No single answer works for everyone, but when stress is significantly impacting your quality of life, that's a legitimate factor to consider alongside the numbers.

You can also consider going part time at your current job if they'll allow it. That's what I did at 63. Reduced my hours to 24/week, started collecting SS, and still had health insurance. Best decision ever - less stress but still had structure and enough income. Just make sure you stay under the earnings limit with your work income.

Has anyone here tried calling the Social Security office for benefit estimates? I spent THREE DAYS trying to get through last month when I needed to ask about my widow's benefits! Kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in 20 minutes instead of hours on hold. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Not cheap but worth it to me since I needed specific questions answered about my complicated situation. The SSA agent was actually super helpful once I got through.

One other important factor to consider: since you mentioned helping with a special needs family member, you should look into whether they might qualify for benefits based on your record in the future. In some cases, adult disabled children/relatives can receive benefits based on a caregiver's record. This may or may not apply in your situation, but it's something to consider when timing your benefit claim.

my sister said somthing about restricted application for divorced spouse benefits but idk if thats still a thing??

I'm just here to say DON'T TRUST the breakeven calculators out there!!! They're all based on a bunch of assumptions that probably don't apply to YOUR specific situation! They don't account for investment returns if you took early benefits and invested them, they don't account for inflation properly, and they COMPLETELY IGNORE the emotional value of reducing your stress NOW rather than later!!! If your job is making you miserable and you have other income sources, claiming early might be the right choice FOR YOU regardless of what the math says about some theoretical future that might never happen!

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I've decided to set up an appointment with SSA to get exact benefit estimates for both my own record and ex-spousal benefits at different ages. I'm also going to talk with my employer about possibly reducing to part-time hours - that might be the perfect compromise to reduce stress while still maximizing my SS benefits. I appreciate all the different perspectives here. This is exactly the kind of thoughtful discussion I was hoping for when I posted my question.