Will my Social Security benefits decrease if I stop working at 61? Confused about spousal vs. own benefits

You've got several questions here, so let me break this down: 1) You will NOT "always have to take SS under his total." What happens is that when you file for benefits, SSA automatically gives you whichever is higher - your own benefit or the spousal benefit (which is 50% of your husband's PIA). You don't lose your own benefit. 2) After your husband passes, you would receive survivor benefits equal to 100% of what he was receiving (or would have received if he hadn't claimed yet) if that amount is higher than your own benefit. 3) About stopping work: SSA calculates your benefit based on your highest 35 years of earnings. If you have fewer than 35 years of work, they'll use zeros for the missing years. So yes, adding 6 years of zeros could affect your benefit amount, but how much depends on your current earnings record. If you already have 35+ years of good earnings, the impact might be minimal.

My neighbor went thru this exact same thing last year! she quit her job at 62 and was worried about her SS. I think she said something about getting her own benefit OR half her husbands, not both. But I'm not 100% sure on that.

The previous responses are mostly correct, but I want to clarify a few technical details: 1) Stopping work now could indeed impact your benefit calculation. SSA uses your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. Having additional zero years can definitely reduce your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). 2) For your specific situation, I recommend creating a my Social Security account at ssa.gov where you can use their calculators to see how different retirement ages and earnings scenarios affect your benefit amount. It's quite eye-opening! 3) The spousal benefit maximum is indeed 50% of your husband's PIA at your Full Retirement Age (FRA), but it's reduced if you claim early. 4) Survivor benefits are up to 100% of what your husband was receiving, including any delayed retirement credits if he waited past FRA. 5) When you file for retirement benefits, the SSA automatically pays you the higher amount between your own retirement benefit and your spousal benefit - so you'll always get the better of the two.

OMG the SS system is so confusing and NOBODY at the actual offices can explain it clearly! I've been trying to figure this out for my situation too. I've called the SS office like 8 times and got 8 different answers!!! It's infuriating. I think what happens is if your husband makes more than you, you automatically get HIS amount and all your years of working basically count for NOTHING. That's what happened to my aunt - worked her whole life and ended up with the same as her neighbor who never worked a day outside the home. The whole system is RIGGED against working women!

I was in a very similar situation a few years back. I stopped working at 60 and was worried about my SS benefits. I learned that since I already had 30+ years of work history, adding a few zeros didn't impact my benefit as much as I feared. It reduced my monthly benefit by about $170/month compared to if I had kept working at the same salary until FRA. One thing nobody mentioned yet - since your husband earned more, when you reach your FRA, you'll likely get the spousal benefit if it's higher than your own. But having your own work record gives you flexibility! You could claim your own reduced retirement benefit early (like at 62) and then switch to the full 50% spousal benefit when you reach your FRA. Your husband would need to be collecting his benefits for you to get spousal though.

To clarify the last few comments - the "file and switch" strategy was indeed eliminated for most people by the 2015 Budget Act. When you file now, you're deemed to have filed for all benefits you're eligible for, and you'll receive the highest one. Regarding your original question about not working for 6 years - I recommend checking your current benefit estimate and then using the SSA calculators to see the potential impact. If you already have 33 years of earnings, adding 6 zeros will have some effect, but it might not be dramatic depending on what your previous earning years look like. Also, working part-time might be a good compromise - even earning modest income would prevent adding complete zeros to your record.

Has anyone here actually successfully REACHED someone at Social Security to ask these kinds of questions?? Every time I call the 800 number I get stuck on hold for 2+ hours and then sometimes they just disconnect me! Is there some trick to actually getting through to a real person there? I have similar questions that I need answered before making retirement decisions.

For anyone struggling to reach SSA by phone, I've had several clients use a service called Claimyr that helps get through to a Social Security representative much faster. Basically it navigates the phone system for you and calls you back when a representative is on the line. You can check it out at claimyr.com and they have a video demo showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU It's especially helpful when you need specific answers about your personal situation like calculating benefit scenarios or understanding how stopping work would affect your specific benefit amount.

Going back to your original questions: 1) If you stop working now, your SS benefit will be based on your highest 35 years of earnings. With 33 years of work history, you'd add 2 years of zeros to your calculation. This will lower your benefit some, but probably not drastically. 2) You can create a my Social Security account and use the retirement calculator to see exactly how different scenarios would affect your benefit amount. 3) When you file for benefits, you'll automatically receive either your own retirement benefit OR the spousal benefit (up to 50% of your husband's PIA), whichever is higher. 4) If your husband passes away, you'd be eligible for survivor benefits equal to 100% of his benefit amount (including any delayed retirement credits if he waited past FRA to claim). You absolutely can receive benefits based on your own record if that amount is higher than the spousal benefit. Your work history counts!

I'm in a similar situation and wanted to share what I learned from meeting with a local SSA office representative (after multiple failed phone attempts!). One thing that might help with your decision: if you do decide to work part-time, even earning just $10,000-15,000 per year would be much better than complete zeros in your earnings record. Every little bit helps when they're calculating your benefit based on those highest 35 years. Also, I discovered that the SSA website has a really helpful publication called "When To Start Receiving Retirement Benefits" (Publication No. 05-10147) that walks through scenarios similar to yours. It includes examples of how spousal benefits work and calculations for different claiming strategies. The key takeaway that gave me peace of mind: having your own work record gives you options and protection. Even if the spousal benefit ends up being higher, your own earnings record serves as a safety net and ensures you have retirement benefits in your own right. Good luck with whatever you decide - sounds like you've gotten some great advice here!