My wife and I are the same age. My wife started receiving SS benefits at age 62. I started receiving SS benefits at age 65, three years later when I retired. At that time I asked if my wife could apply for the spousal benefit. We were told if she applies then, her benefit around would increase by $150 but if we waited a year until we were both 66 for her to apply, her benefit would increase by $300. The year has passed and we went to apply for the spousal benefit and we are waiting for the decision on it. We weren't given any reason to be confident she will get an increase.

I have studied the calculation for Social Security (SS) spouse benefits and believe I understand the steps in the calculation. I am asking for your help validating my calculations. These calculations are based on an effective date of 11/01/2019 (because my spouse’s birthday is on the 1st of the month, she can file as Full Retirement Age (FRA) on 11/01/2019 per the Social Security website calculator). Here are the facts:

Hello,
I am 67, my husband is 64. I was born BEFORE Jan 2, 1954. I collect social security benefits, my husband does not. I have suspended my social security benefits once but have since restarted. I have just learned about Restricted Application Social Security, my question - can I suspend my benefits again and participate in Restricted Application benefits?

Hi,

I am running a variety of Social Security retirement proposals on your maximizemysocialsecurity website. I plan on waiting until 70 to collect my benefit. My wife will be 66 in January and will request her FRA benefit at that time. Each time I ran a scenario that delayed her entitlement month (January, February, March) her benefit expectantly increased, yet her spousal benefit decreased leaving the net annual benefit the same? My benefit at age 70 will not change. Why then does her spousal benefit (presumably 50% of mine) decrease as she delays retirement benefits?

Hi Larry, i am 62 and i am receiving SS now. My husband is 59 and he is receiving SSDI do i qualify for spousal disability benefits on his account

Hi,

Possibly, but you could only qualify for spousal benefits if 50% of your husband's full Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit rate, which is equal to his primary insurance amount (PIA), is higher than your PIA. Your PIA is equal to the amount that your Social Security retirement benefit would be if you had waited until your full retirement age (FRA) to start drawing.

My husband became disabled at 48 and had been on SSDI. I became disabled at 55 and collected STRS, then at 59 got my own SSDI of only $335. At 67 can I apply for spousal SS benefits? I reduced my benefits with STRS to give him some income if I died, which it seemed likely at the time.

Hi,

I'm impacted by the WEP and wanted to know if my benefit would be increased if I claimed under my spouse?
I was born in 1953 and my spouse in 1955.

Hi,

I started receiving SS when I turned 70. My current monthly benefit, without deductions, is $3425.50. My wife and I decided she would file at age 62 rather that waiting until her FRA which is 66 years 6 months. Had she waited until her FRA to file, her benefit would have been $1226 ,based on her work record.

When she filed last month the SSA office calculated her benefit as $894.10 on her work record and $48.50 as a wife. For a total of $942. Which she will start receiving in October.

I thought a spousal benefit would be 32.5% of my benefit, $1113.

I began my benefits at age 62. I am 64 now. I do not work. My wife with whom I do not live has turned 62; she still is working. Can she claim benefits on my account? If so, does that reduce my benefit?

Hi,

Your wife could apply for spousal benefits on your record, but she'd only qualify for spousal benefits if 50% of your primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than twice as much as her own PIA. A person's PIA, by the way, is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

Hi Larry,

I have been reading all your responses to various questions but none never seem to match my situations., so here goes. I am 61 years old and my wife is 64. My wife retired when she turned 62 and started to collect her social security and pension. I am planning to retire when my wife reaches her full retirement age which I believe is 66 and 2 months. We chose this because if I understand the rules at that point she would be eligible for one half of my full retirement benefit regardless of the fact that I am retiring early, Do I have this correct?