Follow up question to Aug 7th concerning Widows benefits. If my wife is taking early Spousal benefits, say age 62 and I took early retirement and die before she reaches her FRA, can she elect to suspend receiving widow benefits until reaching her FRA so as to then get the higher of my reduced benefit or 82.5% of my FRA?
Also, if I take early benefit and she waits until her FRA for spousal benefit, does she get 50% of my early benefit or of my original PIA at my FRA?
Thanks again for all your sage advice I have been reading in this forum!

Hi,

Hello Mr. Kotlikoff,

Scenario - Married couple for 30 years. Jim is 66 and collects PIA of $2,500/mo. Jill is 62 and collects a reduced Spousal of ~$925/mo. Jim dies this year.
1) What options if any does Jill have? i.e. can she continue her spousal until she is 66 then switch to survivor and receive $2,500?
2) Would her options be any different if instead of collecting a $925 spousal she was collecting a $925 retirement benefit on her own record at 62?
Thanks for clarifying.

Hi,

Hi Larry

hey, can I file for SS spousal benefits at age 62 ( I'm 61 now/dob 12/57) and then switch to my own SS benefits at a later date without penalty/reduction at wife's death or my full retirement age ?

Hi,

No. Since you were born after January 1 1954 you'll be deemed to be filing for both spousal benefits and for retirement benefits on your own record whenever you file for either one. So, if you file at age 62 you'll just receive essentially the higher of your own rate or your spousal rate, and your benefit rate will be reduced for age.

I am 69 and plan to work full-time til I'm 75. Should I apply for SS benefits now? Although I will take a slightly smaller benefit, won't it increase as I continue to work full-time?
Thanks for your help!

Hi,

Hi Larry,

I am 67 (March) and my wife will be 66 in September. I am planning on filing for my benefits now with a start date of 9/1/18 and simultaneously my wife will apply for her spousal benefit with a start date of 9/1/18 using a restricted application. My benefit is four times higher than hers. My questions are as follows:

My husband pass away 2 months ago. He received SS disability benefits for the last 30 years. We were born a day apart. I am now 63.5 years old and currently working and plan to continue to work at least until I am 66. My estimated SS benefit at full retirement age is about the same that his SS disability will be. I was informed that I can apply for my husband benefits at age 66 and allow my own benefits to grow until age 70 and than start receiving my own benefits. But somebody told me that it can only work if my own benefits are smaller than my husband benefits. Is this true?

i am 66. my husband is 67. we've not filed for SS yet. My SS would be about 1000 right now. my husband's would be about 1600. Can I start collecting now and then my husband could get 1/2 of my 1000 and then he could wait to file his own when he is 68?

Hi,

Hi, I would like your recommendation for our situation:
My husband, Tom is 60 (will be 61 next month), I am 59 (will be 60 in two months)
Here are the retirement benefits for Tom: 62/$1,358, 66.6/$1,862, 70/$2,384
Here are my retirement benefits: 62/$1,110, 66.6/$1,540, 70/$1,951
We are looking at retiring at 70. How and when can I draw half of Tom's retirement amount? What would my amount be?