Comments on: Social Security Spouse Benefits – Key Concepts

By: alan barkshire

alan barkshire — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 12:54:48 +0000

My wife and I are both retired and taking social security benefits. Our benefits are reduced because we both took them at 62, she is now 70 and I am 71 and she gets 1200/mo and I get 1850/mo and we are able to live on our benefits but our fixed costs are such that if either one of us dies the others social security benefits will not cover them. Would either of us get some portion of the others benefits when they die

By: Dave Caviezel

Dave Caviezel — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:26:29 +0000

Under the above heading of “Social Security Spouse Claim and Suspend Strategy” you say, “1. One spouse claims his or her Social Security benefit. The other spouse signs up for the spousal benefit. The first spouse then immediately notifies Social Security that he or she wants to “suspend” his or benefit. This causes the primary benefit to stop but the spousal benefit continues.”

When the primary benefit spouse reaches, say, age 70 and starts receiving benefits, can the spouse then claim 1/2 of the now larger amount (age 70 1/2 benefit vs. age 66 1/2 benefit)?
I ask this because in our case 1/2 would still be more than my wife’s benefit based on her own work record.
Thanks very much,
Dave

By: Bob Ochoa

Bob Ochoa — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 19:09:47 +0000

I am 77 years old and been retired 10 years. My companion (54 Yrs. old) and I have been living together over 9 years. If we married, could she receive my SS benefits when I pass on and at what age?
Look forward to your response.

By: Sue

Sue — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:05:54 +0000

About two years ago I started receiving SS disability, I am 58 and my husband worked for the Correctional System and they didn’t take out ss. He is now 62 and had put in for his ss and now receives $250/mo. We are both retired on disability. I know that he can’t receive any of my ss disability now, but when I come of retirement age, what is it 66 or 70yo, my ssd will change to regular ss and I will get about $1200. Is there anything that we can do to get my husband at that time half of my money, or anything that we can do now so he gets more?

By: Randy

Randy — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:13:05 +0000

My wife and I are 61 years old. At full retirement, age 66, I will receive $2200 and my wife $750. Since 1/2 of my benefit is greater than her full benefit, could she begin taking a reduced benefit at age 62 which calculates at about $550, and then at age 66 get 50% of my benefit, or $1100 without any reduction in benefit? Are there any drawbacks to this approach?

By: Ellen L

Ellen L — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 06:10:41 +0000

My husband will be 66 this November and has applied for social security benefits which he’ll receive in December. I am 63 and have spent just about all my married life raising my children and and very few work years. I applied for social security and was told I do not have enough credits “on my own record” to apply. I would need 18 more credits, but this is contrary to what I have read about spousal benefits. I knew I would not apply on my own benefit but on my spouses. Should I appeal the decision or wait and reapply. I did not mention that I have an autoimmune disease diagnosed in my later years but that I may have had for many years unknowingly when I applied because I thought the spousal benefit would cover me and since I haven’t worked in years and years I had no reason to apply for any other benefits. Should I bring this up now if I appeal? It is a difficult situation because it is not like I can’t function, but I do have fatigue and I know that it would be difficult for me to hold down a job and at my age it would be difficult getting a job.

By: Brandi A

Brandi A — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 03:57:41 +0000

My husband is 62 and I am 61. He has always made a lot more money than me so his SS benefits will be a lot more than mine. I want to retire at 62 and he will continue working until his FRA. I would continue to work part time, until my FRA. I would not even come close to the $14k a year limit. He makes under $36k. and it probably will stay that way. Does it make sense for me to collect what I can now? If he should pass away before me, would I then be eligible for 100% survivor benefits? And lastly, we will have medical BC/BS from his work until he retires. Would I have to enroll in Medicare at 65 while he has me on his BC/BS? Thanks for any insight.

By: bugsy

bugsy — Mon, 09 May 2011 15:59:02 +0000

as i noted in a post above, my understanding is that if she files at age 62 she has NO choice as to what she can do…it is the max of either spousal or her own. if her own bennies are less (seems doutful based on you numbers)then at full retirement age you can pay back her bennies and go to spousal allowing her own bennies to increase until age 70..

By: John Christensen

John Christensen — Fri, 06 May 2011 18:28:15 +0000

I am almost 66 and have been drawing a benefit of $2,100 per month. My wife is almost 61 and will have her own benefit of about $2,000 per month at her age 66. Can she begin drawing a spousal benefit at her age 62 and then switch to her own retirement benefit at her normal retirement age of 66? What would her spousal benefit be?

By: Larry

Larry — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:34:55 +0000

ttempted to pursue the “claim now, claim more later” strategy and was told by Social Security that whatever benefit I claimed now would be locked in for life. I am 62 and retired, my wife is the same age and plans to continue to work to at least 66. Since my pension plan did not coordinate with Social Security, my benefit (qualified by other employment) will be decimated by the Windfall Elimination Provision. My plan was to claim my own benefit now (the gains in a small benefit from waiting for full retirement age would be small and the reduced further by the WEP) and then claim the spousal benefit when my wife retires.

Social Security told me no. Is this strategy invalid in my case or should I go back to Social Security and ask again?