Dear Larry,

My wife recently submitted a restricted application and started receiving spousal benefits at age 66 (FRA) based on my earnings record. I am 66 and currently receiving my own social security retirement income benefits. She is delaying benefits based on her own record in order to continue to accumulate deferred retirement credits. We then submitted a request to social security for a report of the estimated benefits she will receive based on her own record at age 70 (she is still working and we gave them an estimate of her future earning on the "Request for Social Security Statement" form). They responded with a Social Security Statement the reads "We are not giving you estimates because our records show that you have already qualified for benefits". And the online site doesn't provide the requested information either. How can we obtain this information? And how can we be sure that she is receiving the deferred retirement credits if they won't provide us with estimated benefits based on her own record?

Best, Richard

Dear Richard,

Social Security does a terrible job in providing benefit estimates. No one under 60 or who is still working can trust their estimates. And if you are collecting benefits, they will, indeed, not help you understand what other benefits you'll collect in the future.

Please run our software. It will tell you exactly what she will receive. And you can also use it to verify that what she is receiving is half of your full retirement benefit in the form of a spousal benefit.

If you need any help with sorting his out once you purchase our software, submit a support request and we'll tell you exactly what to do.

My best, Larry