Will my Social Security be taxed when husband still works - taking SS at 65 while spouse waits until FRA

Yes, your Social Security benefits will likely be taxable on your joint return. When filing jointly, the IRS looks at your combined income. Up to 85% of your SS benefits may be taxable if your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of SS benefits) exceeds $44,000. As for penalties, there are two separate issues: 1. Taking SS before your FRA means a permanent reduction in your monthly benefit amount (about 6.67% per year early) 2. The tax issue you mentioned There's no way to avoid the benefit reduction for claiming early. And with your husband's income, you'll almost certainly have some portion of your benefits subject to income tax.

WAIT UNTIL YOUR OWN FRA!!!! My wife took SS at 63 and I was still working making about $80K and we got HAMMERED on taxes. Not only did she get a reduced benefit forever, but most of it went to taxes anyway. It's a double penalty and the government wins twice. Worst financial decision we ever made. Just my 2 cents.

This is a common question, and the answer depends on your overall financial situation. A few points to consider: 1. Taxation: Your Social Security will likely be partially taxable due to your husband's income. With $92,000 in earnings, you'll exceed the $44,000 threshold for married filing jointly, meaning up to 85% of your benefits could be taxable. 2. Early claim reduction: Taking benefits at 65 instead of your FRA will permanently reduce your monthly benefit by approximately 13.3% if your FRA is 67. 3. Earnings test: Since you're retired, you won't be subject to the earnings test, but your husband's earnings don't affect your benefits. 4. Alternative strategy: Consider whether you might maximize lifetime benefits by having the higher earner delay benefits until age 70 (8% increase per year of delay). Consider meeting with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security claiming strategies to analyze your specific situation.

My sister had this same problem! She took SS at 64 and her husband kept working. They had to pay taxes on like 85% of her benefits because of their combined income. But she said they still came out ahead because they needed the extra money each month even with the tax hit. Just depends on your situation I guess?

I'm dealing with almost the identical situation! I tried calling SSA for 3 days straight to ask about this exact scenario and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. Finally I found Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 15 minutes. The agent confirmed everything the others here are saying - with your husband's income, your SS will be partially taxable. But she also helped me calculate exactly how much we'd pay in taxes vs. taking it later. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU if you're struggling to reach SSA like I was.

tax thing is real but dont 4get medicare premiums 2! if ur filing jointly with his income ur probably in higher IRMAA bracket so monthly medicare part b costs more too

You might want to run the numbers both ways. My husband and I were in a similar situation. What we found was that even with the tax hit and the reduced benefit from claiming early, I still came out ahead by taking SS at 64 because: 1) I got 3 extra years of payments I wouldn't have received otherwise 2) We invested some of that money 3) The break-even point where waiting would have been better was around age 83 in my case So if longevity isn't common in your family, sometimes taking it early still makes sense despite the tax situation.

Just curious - have you looked into spousal benefits at all? My aunt did something where she took a spousal benefit based on her husband's record first, then switched to her own later? Not sure if that still works with the new rules though

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I've learned so much here. I think we need to really look at several things: 1) How much of my benefit would be lost to taxes given our joint income, 2) The permanent reduction for claiming early, 3) The Medicare premium increases mentioned, and 4) That break-even analysis comparing taking benefits now versus waiting. I'll try connecting with SSA using that Claimyr service to get specific numbers for our situation. We might also consult with a financial advisor who specializes in retirement planning. This is much more complicated than I initially thought!