Recent content by Mike Piper

Just adding an example, in case it's illustrative. Take the same scenario you have outlined, pb4uski, except adjust the wife's (higher earner's) year of birth to 1967. In this case, by the time the higher earner reaches age 62, the lower earner will have already reached his FRA. So deemed...

In the scenario you have described, with the lower earner filing ASAP for his own retirement benefit, as soon as the higher earner files for her own retirement benefit, the lower earner will be deemed to have filed for a spousal benefit. If the higher earning spouse files for retirement benefits...

Yes, this is correct. SpouseB's benefit as SpouseA's spouse is a function of: 1) Spouse A's primary insurance amount, 2) The date at which SpouseB filed for that spousal benefit. The date at which SpouseA filed for his/her own retirement benefit is not an input in the calculation. The...

You would be able to file a restricted application for a spousal benefit equal to 50% of her PIA if a) you had already reached your FRA at the time (which will be the case, based on the text of your post) and b) you were born prior to 1/2/1954 (which does not appear to be the case). If you are...

Contributions come out tax-free, penalty-free at any time. Conversions come out free from regular income tax at any time. There is, however, a 10% penalty unless: a) the 5-year rule has been met for that conversion, b) the distribution is for a qualifying reason, or c) one of the other...

SecondCor521, you have written an excellent explanation. Just providing confirmation of a few points, below. Yes, after reaching age 59.5, converted amounts can come out penalty-free regardless of the 5-year window. That's correct. The money is accessible. And it would not be subject to...

A forum member emailed me to ask if I would reply to this thread. I agree that using other assets to essentially make the conversion "complete" within 60 days is fine -- the whole amount will count as having been converted. And yes, the amount withheld will count as having been paid over the...

It is still an option. What changed regarding suspension is that nobody else* is allowed to receive a benefit (e.g., spousal or child benefit) on the work record of the person who is suspended, during the period of suspension. But it is still definitely an option to suspend a benefit at FRA...

This is true. A major contributing factor though is simply interest rates. The default discount rate is the yield on 20-year TIPS, whatever that happens to be at the time the calculator is running. Right now, it's 0.19%. At the beginning of this year, it was 1.07%. Because interest rates have...

Yes, you are correct that disability benefits convert to retirement benefits at FRA. (Amount stays the same, but it's now technically a retirement benefit.) So either: 1) This is early-onset Alzheimer's, 2) The brother's benefit was not properly converted to a retirement benefit at his FRA, or...

Based on the statement below, it sounds as if skipro33's brother is receiving a disability benefit rather than a retirement benefit. Spousal benefits are paid from whichever fund is paying the worker's benefit.

They're separate checks because they're coming from separate trust funds. The spousal benefit is being paid from the disability trust fund, whereas her retirement benefit is being paid from the "old age and survivor" trust fund.

It's a difference with a distinction, in some cases -- specifically, if there are minor children, adult disabled children, or dependent parents involved. For example, if the family maximum on SpouseA's work record is $2,000 per month, and spouseB is getting a total monthly benefit of $800 per...

In theory, if the checks are supposed to come from the same trust fund, they're supposed to be combined. https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202401025 But people would get two separate checks in some cases. For instance: *Spouse A is getting disability benefits (coming from DI trust...

This strategy of applying for spousal-only while allowing your own retirement benefit to grow is known as a "restricted application." It is still available to people who were at least age 62 as of 1/1/2016 (i.e., people born 1/1/1954 or earlier). An analogous strategy is also still available to...