Will I get 30% of husband's delayed Social Security if he files at 70 instead of his FRA?

Your spousal benefit is based on your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the benefit amount he would receive at his full retirement age. It doesn't matter if he delays until 70 - your spousal portion will still be calculated on his FRA amount, not his increased age 70 benefit. So if his PIA is $3,600, and you file at 62, you'd get approximately 32.5% of that ($1,170) as the spousal portion. The exact percentage depends on your own FRA. The increase he gets for delaying to 70 (an additional 24% beyond his FRA amount) doesn't factor into your spousal benefit calculation at all.

my sister went thru this exact thing last year!! she took hers at 62 and got the smaller amount but her husband is waiting till 70. the SSA person told her it's based on his FRA benefit not the delayed one. kind of a bummer but at least your husband still gets his bigger check!

You might want to run some more numbers before deciding. If you wait until your own FRA to file, you'd get 50% of his PIA instead of 32.5% at age 62. That could be a significant difference depending on your financial situation. Also, have you considered that once your husband files (whether at FRA or 70), if you're already receiving your own benefit, you'll automatically be eligible for the additional spousal benefit if it would give you more? The other thing to think about: if your husband passes away, as his widow you would receive his FULL benefit amount, including any delayed retirement credits. So his decision to wait until 70 could significantly increase your survivor benefits later.

DONT COUNT ON ANYTHING THE SSA TELLS YOU!!! I was told THREE DIFFERENT THINGS by three different agents when I called about my spousal benefits. One said I could get 50% at 62 (WRONG), another said I had to wait until my husband filed before I could get spousal (ALSO WRONG in my case). The third one finally seemed to know what she was talking about. The whole system is DESIGNED to confuse you so you'll take less than you deserve!!!!

im confused about something - does your husband HAVE to file for you to get spousal benefits? or can you get them when you turn 62 even if he hasnt filed yet?

Something no one has mentioned yet: if you take your own benefit at 62, it will be permanently reduced to 70% of your FRA benefit. Then when your husband files and you become eligible for spousal benefits, your total benefit will be your reduced benefit PLUS enough of the spousal benefit to bring you up to the maximum you're entitled to (which, if you file at 62, would be about 32.5% of his PIA). In practical terms: if your own benefit at 62 is $1,250 and your husband's PIA is $3,600, then your maximum at 62 would be around $1,170 (32.5% of his PIA). Since your own benefit is already higher, you wouldn't receive any additional spousal amount until he files. This gets even more complicated when you factor in cost of living adjustments over time!

To answer your follow-up question: If your own reduced benefit at 62 ($1,250) is already higher than what your spousal benefit would be at that age (32.5% of his PIA), then you wouldn't receive any additional amount when he files. You'd simply continue receiving your own benefit. However, this calculation can change over time with COLAs (Cost of Living Adjustments). Also, remember that survivors benefits work very differently from spousal benefits - if your husband predeceases you, you'd be eligible for 100% of whatever he was receiving, including delayed retirement credits if he waited until 70 to file.

whats the diff between SSI and SSDI again? does that matter for spousal benefits?? sorry if thats a stupid question but all these acronyms confuse me lol

my aunt used to work for ssa and she said always always ALWAYS wait until FRA to get the full 50% for spouse benefit. taking early is a mistake she saw people make every day