Will my Social Security benefits be reduced after marriage with working spouse's income?

Good news! At 66, you've reached your full retirement age (FRA), so there's no earnings limit that would reduce your Social Security benefits regardless of how much your spouse earns. The earnings test only applies to people collecting benefits before their FRA. So your husband's $54,000 income will not directly reduce your SS benefits. What you should be concerned about is potential taxation of your benefits. When you file taxes jointly, up to 85% of your Social Security benefits may become taxable if your combined income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of your Social Security benefits) exceeds $44,000. With your combined incomes, you'll likely exceed this threshold, so some portion of your benefits may be subject to income tax.

my sister just got married 2 at 68 and she lost like $600 a month from her check bc her new husband makes good money. social security office told her thats just how it works when u get married. u might wanna call them to check ur situation

I went through something similar when I remarried at 65. The taxation issue is what you need to prepare for. My husband and I now file married filing separately to avoid the lower threshold for benefit taxation. You should really talk with a tax professional who specializes in retirement issues before your next filing. Also, have you considered whether you might be eligible for spousal benefits instead of your own? If 50% of your husband's benefit would be higher than your current benefit (which would depend on his earnings history and when he claims), you might be able to switch to the higher amount when he files. I tried calling SSA directly about this tax issue for weeks but couldn't get through - kept getting disconnected or told to call back later. I finally used Claimyr to get through to an agent (https://claimyr.com). There's a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Got through to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of spending days redialing. The agent explained exactly how the marriage would affect my benefits and gave me documentation I could share with my tax preparer.

Congrats on your marriage! At 66 you're past FRA so no worries about the earnings test. 👍 The only real issue is taxes. My hubby and I are in the same boat - I'm retired and he still works. We set aside a portion of my SS benefits for taxes since they don't withhold anything automatically. Good luck!

To maximize your situation, consider: 1. Have taxes withheld from your SS benefits using Form W-4V to avoid an unexpected tax bill 2. Make sure you're optimizing retirement account contributions for your husband (maxing out 401k/IRA can reduce your joint taxable income) 3. If your husband plans to claim benefits soon, coordinate your claiming strategy - in some cases, it might make sense for you to switch to spousal benefits if they would be higher than your own 4. Calculate whether filing jointly or separately makes more sense in your specific situation (though usually filing jointly is more beneficial overall) 5. Track medical expenses carefully as they may help reduce your taxable income if they exceed 7.5% of your AGI The fact that you're already at FRA protects you from the earnings test, which is the main concern for many married beneficiaries.

A quick clarification on spousal benefits since there seems to be some confusion: If you're already collecting your own retirement benefit and your husband files for his benefits, you can only receive the higher of either your own benefit or the spousal benefit (which is up to 50% of your husband's full retirement amount), not both. The SSA will automatically give you the higher amount. So if your current benefit is higher than what you'd get as a spouse, nothing changes. But if the spousal benefit would be higher, you'd be "topped up" to that amount. This isn't really "switching" - it's more like receiving a supplement if the spousal benefit is higher.

Wait i thought if u get married social security takes away some of ur check???? My aunt told me she lost part of her SS check when she remarried at 70 last year!!

THE BIGGEST ISSUE IS TAXES!!!!! My husband and I lost THOUSANDS when we started filing jointly after I retired. His income pushed us into a higher bracket AND made 85% of my SS benefits taxable. NOBODY WARNS YOU ABOUT THIS SCAM!!! The government gives with one hand and takes with the other. We're seriously considering divorce on paper just to fix our tax situation while still living together. The system PUNISHES married seniors!!!

Has anyone told SS that you got married? My sister didn't report her marriage for almost a year (not on purpose, she just didn't think about it) and nothing changed with her benefits.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing that my actual SS benefit amount won't be reduced just because my husband is working. I'm going to look into having some taxes withheld using that W-4V form someone mentioned, and I'll definitely check if I might qualify for a higher spousal benefit when my husband claims in a couple years. I tried calling the SSA office yesterday but gave up after being on hold for 45 minutes. Might try that Claimyr service someone mentioned if I can't get through soon. Thanks again for all the advice!