Ask Larry

Can I Drop My Own Benefits And Get Half Of My Husband's Benefits Instead?

my husband will b 65 n november, he will sign up for societ security. I am drawing my ss. Can i drop mind an draw half of what he will draw.

Hi,

No. Once you start drawing your own benefits you can't stop those benefits and draw a different type of benefit instead. However, if you started drawing your own benefits within the last year you could potentially withdraw your application, but you'd then have to repay any benefits you've already received. Even if you did that, though, the only way you could draw spousal benefits without also filing for your own benefits is if you are at least full retirement age (FRA) and you were born prior to January 2 1954 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html).

Assuming that you can't withdraw the application that you filed on your own record and apply just for spousal benefits, the only way that you could qualify for spousal benefits is if your spouse's primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than twice as much as your PIA. In that case you could potentially apply for a partial spousal benefit to be paid in addition to your own benefit rate.

You may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to explore your options so that you can determine what options that you may have for claiming additional benefits.

Best, Jerry

Category: 
Posted: 
Sep 29 2019 - 7:51pm
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