Hi Larry,
I am very confused about social security and how to maximize. I bought your book and am still somewhat confused. My spouse will apply for his benefit in October at 62. I will also be 62 in October. I also qualify to receive social security on my own work record. I currently am not sure if I want to start collecting social security at age 62. Can I be forced to take the spousal benefit when my spouse applies, and since I am deemed, that means I cannot apply for my own, let us say, when I turn 66 and 2 months? Also, my PIA is NOT less than half of my spouses, I am 57 dollars larger than half of my spouses PIA. So I do not know if I even would qualify for spousal benefit on my husband s record.
Windfall provision will kick in for me when I do file because I will also get a german pension. So it seems like I will end of with only about a half of social security because of the windfall. That is disgusting. What questions should I ask the social security office located near me?

Hi,

No, you won't be required to file for spousal benefits on your husband's record until you file for your own benefits. And, if you are correct that your own full retirement age rate (PIA) is more than 50% of your husband's PIA, you won't qualify for spousal benefits anyway.

However, if your PIA is lowered due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) to less than 50% of your husband's PIA, then you may qualify for some spousal benefits after all. Your German pension won't result in a reduction of your PIA until you actually begin receiving the pension, though, so it may be advantageous to defer starting your German pension if doing so would increase your benefit rate.

You will likely want to ask Social Security to explain your benefit options to you, along with the amounts you would receive depending on when you decide to file. You'll want to tell them about your German pension eligibility so that they have all of the facts available to them. Many people state that they've received incorrect information from their Social Security representatives, so you may want to strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website to get an accurate picture of your options.

Best, Jerry