In planning for retirement, I've never included spousal SS in any of the calculations, partly because the pension is dependent on how well the investments grow. Another reason is that we plan on taking the pension as a lump sum payment (rollover into an IRA), versus an annuity. From the SSA site:
This is in the category of "it's nice to know," since planning assumes $0, which it could still be.
How much will my Social Security benefits be reduced?
Your Social Security benefits will be reduced by two-thirds of your government pension. In other words, if you get a monthly civil service pension of $600, two-thirds of that, or $400, must be deducted from your Social Security benefits. For example, if you are eligible for a $500 spouse’s, widow’s or widower’s benefit from Social Security, you will receive $100 per month from Social Security ($500 – $400 = $100).
If you take your government pension annuity in a lump sum, Social Security still will calculate the reduction as if you chose to get monthly benefit payments from your government work.
I've searched the site and haven't found any examples. Does anyone have an idea how they will calculate a lump sum payment into a monthly benefit stream? What ROR do they use? Do they calculate it based on the lump sum at retirement or the IRA value at the time benefits are requested?Your Social Security benefits will be reduced by two-thirds of your government pension. In other words, if you get a monthly civil service pension of $600, two-thirds of that, or $400, must be deducted from your Social Security benefits. For example, if you are eligible for a $500 spouse’s, widow’s or widower’s benefit from Social Security, you will receive $100 per month from Social Security ($500 – $400 = $100).
If you take your government pension annuity in a lump sum, Social Security still will calculate the reduction as if you chose to get monthly benefit payments from your government work.
This is in the category of "it's nice to know," since planning assumes $0, which it could still be.