Claiming Social Security Question ??

[rkser]

Looking for pointers & suggestions -- When to claim Social Security ??

I am 66 having reached FRA & DW is 61.

Our SSA benefit estimates are -

I if claimed today the benefit is $ 2948, and at age 70 the benefit increases to $3416

DW if claimed in a few months at 62 $1209 and at FRA of 67 will be $1717 .

We were thinking of I claiming SS at 70, being the higher earner so the survivor benefit would be higher for DW & also the 8% increase each year till age 70. DW will claim at age 62 vs 67.

I found out that the SURVIVOR benefit is 1/2 my benefit at age FRA, NOT that of age 70,
so the only reason to delay till age 70 is the guaranteed 8% increase .

I wonder how this will work ?-

If DW claims her SS in a few months at age 62 & I claim Spousal benefits for the interim for 3 yrs till I claim mine at age 70.

Will DW be still able to claim the Survivor benefit when I pass ? or will her benefit be frozen to whatever her own benefit will be ?

OR

As we do not seem to need the money now, let her claim her benefit at FRA of age 67 ? & I claim at 70 as originally planned

I do not know the answer..........

Thankyou in advance..

 

[finnski1]

Looking for pointers & suggestions -- When to claim Social Security ??

I am 66 having reached FRA & DW is 61.

Our SSA benefit estimates are -

I if claimed today the benefit is $ 2948, and at age 70 the benefit increases to $3416. If you are 66 right now then your FRA would be like 66 and 4 months? you should either be getting more at 70 or that present number is too high.

DW if claimed in a few months at 62 $1209 and at FRA of 67 will be $1717 .

We were thinking of I claiming SS at 70, being the higher earner so the survivor benefit would be higher for DW & also the 8% increase each year till age 70. DW will claim at age 62 vs 67.

I found out that the SURVIVOR benefit is 1/2 my benefit at age FRA, NOT that of age 70, I believe the spousal benefit is 50% at FRA not the survivor benefit. She would get your benefit as a survivor benefit in the amount of whatever your benefit is when you claim.
so the only reason to delay till age 70 is the guaranteed 8% increase . So the survivor benefit increases to the max at age 70.

I wonder how this will work ?-

If DW claims her SS in a few months at age 62 & I claim Spousal benefits for the interim for 3 yrs till I claim mine at age 70.

Will DW be still able to claim the Survivor benefit when I pass ? or will her benefit be frozen to whatever her own benefit will be ?

OR

As we do not seem to need the money now, let her claim her benefit at FRA of age 67 ? & I claim at 70 as originally planned

I do not know the answer..........

Thankyou in advance..

See my responses in red.

 

[Kimdon1110]

Confusing Spousal benefit with Survivor benefit; they are each separate benefit categories with different “rules.”

The Spousal benefit is 1/2 of your FRA/PIA, as long as you have already filed, even if you waited to maximum delayed benefit age of 70 (provided that is greater than your spouses own benefit).

Your initial comments are what many experts recommend: higher earning spouse delay to age 70 to maximize the 8% annual delayed retirement credits for your lower earning survivor spouse if you pass first. Lower earning spouse file sometime between age 62 and 67.

 

[Spock]

The Spousal benefit % is based on the spouses age at the time the spouse claims, not your age.
The spousal benefit amount the % is applied to is your PIA (benefit at FRA).
And the spouse can't claim the spousal benefit until you start your benefit.
https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/quickcalc/spouse.html

 

[MC Rider]

Maybe this site will help?


https://opensocialsecurity.com/

 

[MissMolly]

Before you make any decisions, you need to get familiar with rules as several statements you made are incorrect. As already pointed out, the rules for SPOUSAL and SURVIVOR are different and you appear to be mixing the two. Also, you are not eligible to claim spousal on your wife and delay your own until 70. That option is off the table for anyone born after 01/01/1954. Please take the time to study the rules first before making any decisions. This will a good place to start https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/claiming.html

 

[unno2002]

SS timing? Can you guarantee you and/or spouse will live another day? Can you guarantee that the politicians will continue to fully fund SS? Can you guarantee that any funds paid out of SS will have any purchasing power?



Just my cynical view.

 

[pb4uski]

SS timing? Can you guarantee you and/or spouse will live another day? Can you guarantee that the politicians will continue to fully fund SS? Can you guarantee that any funds paid out of SS will have any purchasing power?



Just my cynical view.

I had a different word for your view in mind...it wasn't cynical but it did start with an "s" sound.

On second thought, let's just go with "not helpful" and call it a day.

 

[oldtimer]

You may want to watch a SS presentation by Mike Piper who wrote a book on SS and created the opensocialsecurity.com website.
Mike Piper on Social Security and Tax Planning

 

[rkser]

Thankyou for clearing my confusion about Spousal (1/2 the benefit) & Survivor (Same benefit as the deceased) SS benefits.

So I will stick with filing at 70 as we had planned.

DW is turning 62 soon but will delay her SS till later maybe nearing 67, that will give us room to do Roth conversions to fill up the lower tax brackets.

In the mean time, spend from taxable accounts for living expenses & Roth convert from IRAs, which we have been doing.

Thanks for your advice & the Mike Piper’s video from Boglehead Conference which laid it down very clearly.

Thanks

 

[DrRoy]

We are doing fine and I plan to wait until 70.

 

[atmsmshr]

My understanding is that:

• 
  SS spousal death benefit increase stops at FRA and does not accumulate to 70.
  SS spousal living benefit is 1/2 of higher earning spouse OR earned benefits.
  BOTH of these are REDUCED if:
  Lower earning / surviving spouse has claimed their benefits prior to FRA.
  
  Please correct me if I am wrong.
  
  Our plan is to both claim at FRA (67), currently at 62.

 

[MissMolly]

My understanding is that:

• 
  SS spousal death benefit increase stops at FRA and does not accumulate to 70.
  SS spousal living benefit is 1/2 of higher earning spouse OR earned benefits.
  BOTH of these are REDUCED if:
  Lower earning / surviving spouse has claimed their benefits prior to FRA.
  
  Please correct me if I am wrong.
  
  Our plan is to both claim at FRA (67), currently at 62.

Well, there is no such thing as a spousal death benefit unless you are talking about the $255 the surviving spouse receives upon the death of their spouse. Once someone dies, the remaining spouse is entitled to SURVIVOR benefits which have an entirely separate set of rules than SPOUSAL benefits. Depending upon the age the surviving spouse claims survivor benefits, they can receive 100% of their spouse's benefit. The 50% does not come into play at all for survivor benefits. You can read about it here https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html#:~:text=Survivors%20Benefit%20Amount,-We%20base%20your&text=Surviving%20spouse%2C%20full%20retirement%20age,50%20through%2059%20—%2071½%25.

 

[atmsmshr]

Well, there is no such thing as a spousal death benefit unless you are talking about the $255 the surviving spouse receives upon the death of their spouse. Once someone dies, the remaining spouse is entitled to SURVIVOR benefits which have an entirely separate set of rules than SPOUSAL benefits. Depending upon the age the surviving spouse claims survivor benefits, they can receive 100% of their spouse's benefit. The 50% does not come into play at all for survivor benefits. You can read about it here https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html#:~:text=Survivors%20Benefit%20Amount,-We%20base%20your&text=Surviving%20spouse%2C%20full%20retirement%20age,50%20through%2059%20—%2071½%25.

Thank you