Will taking SS retirement at 65 reduce my wife's spousal benefits at 69?

Your wife can claim her own retirement benefits now at 65 and then when you file at 67, she can potentially receive additional spousal benefits. The spousal benefit would be up to 50% of your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount), but since she's taking her own retirement early (before her FRA), her own benefit is reduced permanently. When you file, she'll get the higher of: her own reduced benefit OR the difference between her PIA and 50% of your PIA. The fact that she'll be 69 doesn't change this - what matters is she started her own benefits before her FRA. It's called "deemed filing" - when you file for one benefit, you're deemed to have filed for all benefits you're eligible for.

My situasion was simlar but TOTALLY different outcome than what everyone said would happen!! I took my SS at 62 (big mistake) and hubby waited til 70. When he filed they gave me a spousal increase but it was WAY LESS than the 50% we expected because I took mine early. They did some weird calculation with my "PIA" not my actual benefit. Don't trust what the SSA tells u on the phone - get EVERYTHING in writing!!! SS rules are confusing on purpose so they can pay us less!!!!

When your wife applies for spousal benefits, she won't get the full 50% of your benefit amount. Here's the exact formula: 1. She'll continue receiving her own reduced retirement benefit 2. If 50% of your PIA exceeds her own PIA (not her reduced benefit amount), she'll get a spousal add-on 3. The add-on equals the difference between 50% of your PIA and her PIA The key point: her early filing reduces her own benefit permanently, but it doesn't directly reduce the spousal add-on. However, since the spousal calculation is based on PIAs, not actual benefit amounts, it's often less than people expect. Example with made-up numbers: - Your PIA: $2,800 - Her PIA (what she would get at her FRA): $1,200 - Her reduced benefit at 65: $1,050 - Spousal calculation: 50% of your PIA ($1,400) minus her PIA ($1,200) = $200 - Her total benefit: $1,050 + $200 = $1,250

everybody keeps talking about PIA this and PIA that but what even is a PIA? is that the same as FRA? this stuff is so confusing I'm 61 and trying to figure out when to take mine but I cant even understand half the terms people use

I spent HOURS on hold with Social Security trying to get an answer to a similar question. After being disconnected twice, I tried using Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent I spoke with confirmed that my wife's early filing would affect her total combined benefit, but she'd still get an increase when I filed. They also sent me a detailed breakdown of the calculation which was super helpful for planning.

My advice is don't overthink this. Your wife should just take her benefits now and then when you file, SSA will automatically calculate any additional amount she's entitled to. Yes, taking benefits early reduces them, but she's already 65 so the reduction isn't that severe. Plus she gets 4 years of payments she would otherwise miss - that's around $50,000 total before you even file! You'd need to live a REALLY long time for waiting to mathematically make sense in her case.

I heard there's something called "restricted application" where you can take JUST the spousal benefit and let your own continue to grow. Maybe your wife could do that????

pls update us after u talk to SSA! we r in similar spot but im the higher earner (wife). wanna know what happens!