Will my Social Security early retirement benefits change when I reach FRA with spousal benefits?

Unfortunately, your own retirement benefit won't increase when you reach FRA. When you choose to take benefits early at 62, the reduction is permanent. Your spousal benefit might increase slightly, though. At FRA, the spousal benefit can be up to 50% of your husband's PIA (Primary Insurance Amount), minus your own PIA. Since you're getting both benefits now, you're already receiving the spousal top-up, just at a reduced rate. When you reach FRA, only the spousal portion could see a small increase, not your own retirement benefit.

I was in this exact situation! Started at 62, husband was already collecting, and I had the same question when approaching my FRA. I tried calling SSA for WEEKS and just got busy signals or disconnected. I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual SSA agent in about 25 minutes. The agent confirmed what the first commenter said - early retirement reductions are permanent. They have a demo video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - saved me so much time and frustration!

NOTHING changes at FRA if u took benefits early!! its a TRAP they dont tell you bout when u apply!! I took mine at 62 also and was SHOCKED when i reached FRA and got NO increase! the system is designed to punish early filers forever. And dont bother calling them - they just read from scripts and know NOTHING about how it really works!!

Lots of confusion on this topic! To clarify: when you take retirement at 62, you get approximately 70% of your full benefit amount (depending on your exact FRA). This reduction is permanent. For spousal benefits taken early, they're also reduced permanently. However, at FRA, they'll recalculate your spousal benefit based on the full 50% rate, then subtract your own benefit. It's possible you might see a small increase in the spousal portion, but your own benefit will not increase. The exception would be if you had additional earnings that increased your benefit calculation after you started receiving benefits.

im confused about something...if your getting spousal benefits already how does that work? i thought u had to wait til FRA to get spousal? or is that only if ur spouse isnt collecting yet? this whole system is so confusing

Thanks everyone for the explanations! I feel kind of silly for not understanding this better before I applied. I wish the SS office had made this more clear when I was filing. So it sounds like I'm basically locked into this reduced amount forever. I might see a small bump in the spousal part when I hit FRA, but nothing significant. I'll have to adjust our retirement budget plans. Really appreciate all the info!

I just remembered something else important - check if you qualify for the earnings test! If you're still working before FRA while collecting benefits, SSA withholds $1 for every $2 you earn above the annual limit (about $21,240 in 2023). But once you reach FRA, they recalculate and give you credit for those months they withheld benefits. So you might see an increase from that if you've had benefits withheld. This is different from the early filing reduction though.

My cousin said if u work for 10 more years after taking early SS they have to recalculate everything and give u the higher amount. Is that right???