Big mistakes in retirement

[Huston55]

According to my readings on the SSA website, I must be at or above FRA but DW can collect any time after age 62. She'll be 64 when I reach FRA age. She'll get 42% of my FRA benefit. If she waits until her FRA, she would get 50%.

She does have a trivial personal benefit. My limited understanding of the rules makes me think there is no point in her claiming this benefit.

That's also my understanding. However, the other shoe is...if your spouse takes the reduced spousal benefit (8% less) at age 64, then she will be stuck with that reduction when you (presumably) die first and she begins to collect your benefit.

That might be worth a cost/benefit calculation to determine if you and she prefer to wait until she's full retirement age.

 

[jj]

That's also my understanding. However, the other shoe is...if your spouse takes the reduced spousal benefit (8% less) at age 64, then she will be stuck with that reduction when you (presumably) die first and she begins to collect your benefit.

That might be worth a cost/benefit calculation to determine if you and she prefer to wait until she's full retirement age.

Is this correct? Wouldn't 2B's wife just get 2B's SS benefit at the amount he was collecting at with no reduction for having taken the spousal benefit early?

Could more knowledgeable folks weigh in... thanks

 

[NW-Bound]

Everything about SS is complicated, and this topic is just one of them.

From the following article, I have the impression that the survivor's benefit may be reduced based on the survivor's age, at the time the other spouse dies. It does not depend on whether the survivor has claimed her own early or not.

The Social Security Survivor Benefit - Part 1 - Forbes

 

[Running_Man]

If your friend had invested in Vanguard S&P 500 MF, VFINX, his $800K in 1990 would also grow to $8M today, albeit with all dividends re-invested. It's not as good as that single stock, but with much lower risk due to diversification.

So, one must ask himself, "Do you feel lucky, punk?".

He was withdrawing 5% per year on the original amount and had 8 million afterwards, I don't think S&P500 would have been anywhere close to 8 million in that scenario, not only would he have not reinvested the dividends he would have been selling stock as well.

 

[Running_Man]

Everything about SS is complicated, and this topic is just one of them.

From the following article, I have the impression that the survivor's benefit may be reduced based on the survivor's age, at the time the other spouse dies. It does not depend on whether the survivor has claimed her own early or not.

The Social Security Survivor Benefit - Part 1 - Forbes

This is correct and 2 years is subtracted from the calculation as well and it is based on the deceased spouse's Social Security amount actually being paid at time of death. And the younger the spouse actually is, even with the maximum reduction at age 60 ( earliest age you can claim as a survivor) 71.5% of a age 70 adjusted social security should be quite economically favorable and make deferring for the older spouse quite an advantage.