Early SS

[boont]

Ok, I finally got the answer to my original question.

Which was, "what would the non working spouse receive in SS if the working spouse were to retire early."

If I retire at 62 I will receive a percentage of what I would ordinarily receive at age 66 as a SS benefit.

My wife, who happens to be my same age, would get 37.5% of what I would have received if I had retired at 66.

That is the story from the national SS office.

boont

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Hey CFB
you are behind on your parental skills - when they make mess, you should make them clean:

Thats funny, cuz his favorite thing is the vacuum cleaner. Wherever we go, if he sees a vacuum cleaner, he's on it.

I was standing in walmart yesterday looking at that same vacuum and wondering if he'd like it. Is it worth yet another toy taking up space?

 

[REWahoo]

Thats funny, cuz his favorite thing is the vacuum cleaner. Wherever we go, if he sees a vacuum cleaner, he's on it.

Some kids have a fascination with vacuums. #1 grandson loved to go to Sams so he could see all the different models. Insisted we lift him up to shelf level and go down the aisle, stopping at each one to admire it.

He outgrew it by the age of three or four. His two younger brothers have no interest in them whatsoever.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Ah yes, sams club...one of gabes favorite places as he's allowed to get down and walk in there. Not much thats small enough for him to pull over or screw around with. Maybe 3-4 other people in there during the weekdays before noon.

Maybe he likes them because I always used to vacuum with him in the baby carrier when he was little.

 

[JPatrick]

Ok, I finally got the answer to my original question.

Which was, "what would the non working spouse receive in SS if the working spouse were to retire early."

If I retire at 62 I will receive a percentage of what I would ordinarily receive at age 66 as a SS benefit.

My wife, who happens to be my same age, would get 37.5% of what I would have received if I had retired at 66.

That is the story from the national SS office.

boont

Good job boont!
I'd say that answer pretty well parallels the answer I posted from the Q&A.(as below)
I'd like to know this answer also.
Our newspaper has a SS Q&A section and here is how the SS rep answered that question.
Here is one way to look at the situation.  You can get an idea of what your wife would receive on your record when she turns 62.  Her wife's benefit would be approximately one-third of your full retirement benefit.  This is regardless of whether you elect to start your own benefit early.
Seems clear there, but I still need to hear that face to face I think.
I also understand that when you die, she gets 100% of your full benefit. If all of this  is accurate, it would seem that a wife in this situation would be best off taking benefits ASAP. 




Did you happen to ask about the 100% benefit when you flop over?

 

[Martha]

Did you happen to ask about the 100% benefit when you flop over?

widow's/widower's benefits: http://tinyurl.com/k4rlw

"The amount you will get is a percentage of the deceased's basic Social Security benefit. The percentage depends on your age and the type of benefit you are eligible for. A widow or widower, full retirement age or older, will receive 100 percent deceased's basic Social Security benefit.

A widow or widower can receive full benefits at age 65 or older (if born before January 2, 1940) or reduced benefits as early as age 60. The age for receiving full benefits is increasing for widows and widowers born after 1939 until it reaches age 67 for people born in 1962 and later."

For more information on widow(er)s benefits, see http://www.socialsecurity.gov/pubs/10084.html

 

[JPatrick]

widow's/widower's benefits: http://tinyurl.com/k4rlw

"The amount you will get is a percentage of the deceased's basic Social Security benefit. The percentage depends on your age and the type of benefit you are eligible for. A widow or widower, full retirement age or older, will receive 100 percent deceased's basic Social Security benefit.

Your response is right on of course, but for me it begged the question- -What the hell is the basic Social Security benefit?

I looked it up and the answer follows--
basic benefit, or "primary insurance amount" (PIA). This is the amount you would receive at your full retirement age, for most people, age 65. However, beginning with people born in 1938 or later, that age will gradually increase until it reaches 67 for people born after 1959

So, if I've finally got it, the widow's benefit is based on your full retirement benefit ( unless you retire after 65/66) and the max is 100% depending on the widow's age.
Back to my thought a few posts back, it would seem that in the case of an older worker with a younger spouse with no benefit of his/hers that the younger spouse ought to grab benefits at 62 whether they are needed or not simply because the guarantee of a future full benefit will always be there- - regardless.

 

[Martha]

Thanks for looking up the definition so I didn't have to.

The consequences of both spouses taking benefits at age 62: If one dies, then the other could switch to "full" survivor benefits when the survivor reaches full retirement age or the survivor could take partial survivor benefits if the survivor needs the money before full retirement age.

 

[Newell]

There is a lot of misleading information in defining the widow(er)’s benefit in situations where the spouse delays SS benefits beyond their normal retirement age (age 66 for people born 1943-1954) and subsequently dies. A number of sites state that the amount you will get is a percentage of the deceased’s “basic Social Security benefit” as Martha stated. Other sites define “basic Social Security benefit” as the “primary insurance amount (PIA)” which is the amount a retiree gets at their normal retirement age as JPatrick stated.

That all leads one to the conclusion that a widow(er) of a retiree who delayed Social Security beyond their normal retirement age (say until age 70) would NOT simply get a 100% continuation of their deceased spouse’s benefit but some percentage of their PIA. THIS IS INCORRECT.

Section 407.1 of the Social Security Handbook states that:

“The widow(er)'s insurance benefit rate equals 100 percent of the deceased worker's primary insurance amount plus any additional amount the deceased worker was entitled to because of delayed retirement credits.”

 

[JPatrick]

There is a lot of misleading information in defining the widow(er)’s benefit in situations where the spouse delays SS benefits beyond their normal retirement age (age 66 for people born 1943-1954) and subsequently dies. A number of sites state that the amount you will get is a percentage of the deceased’s “basic Social Security benefit” as Martha stated. Other sites define “basic Social Security benefit” as the “primary insurance amount (PIA)” which is the amount a retiree gets at their normal retirement age as JPatrick stated.

That all leads one to the conclusion that a widow(er) of a retiree who delayed Social Security beyond their normal retirement age (say until age 70) would NOT simply get a 100% continuation of their deceased spouse’s benefit but some percentage of their PIA. THIS IS INCORRECT.

Section 407.1 of the Social Security Handbook states that:

“The widow(er)'s insurance benefit rate equals 100 percent of the deceased worker's primary insurance amount plus any additional amount the deceased worker was entitled to because of delayed retirement credits.”

You are correct.  The previous posts  relate to a person retiring at their "normal" retirement age.  What you point out is one of the reasons some folks might find advantage in delaying their retirement beyond 65/66.
It's not for me, but maybe for others.