Comments on: Social Security Strategies For Married Couples

By: Joe Plemon

Joe Plemon — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:33:52 +0000

Steve,
This is a great dialogue…it definitely is helping me better understand the nuances of Social Security and learn how to think a bit out of the box. I am hoping that you and your wife come up with the plan that best suits your needs.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:50:06 +0000

Joe – thanks for the reply! Had that same thought and did some checking and got the same advice. The situation you describe is possible since the spousal benefit my wife will command is based on my PIA (Primary Insurance Amount). So – she can start at 62 and draw a total amount of funds that is greater over drawing at 66. Where my thought thinking was going with waiting is that I don’t have a full picture of the tax implications yet of which much futher analysis is needed on my part. But – the situation you describe from what I understand in reading and other comments is that it is entirely possible.

Thanks,

Steve

By: Joe Plemon

Joe Plemon — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:35:54 +0000

Steve,
Another thought. I don’t know if this would work or not, but here goes:

If your wife started her reduced benefit($600/month) at age 62 and continued drawing it until age 71, when she would then switch over to draw half of your $2550, she would have received $64,800 total. By waiting until she is FRA to draw her $800, she would only receive $48,000 total at age 71. Either way, she would then start drawing $1275 when you file and suspend at your FRA.

This would work only if the SSA allows it and if your wife was not planning to continue working full time after age 62 (she could still earn up to about $14,000 from age 62 to 66 with no penalty).

Thoughts?

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:53:30 +0000

Folks – thanks for the replies. Esentially I am finding out the same info that Marco indicates. To summarize here is my understanding of what I should do – since my wife is 5 years older than me and earned the lesser of our incomes – when she reaches 66 at FTA have her start her Social Security. When I reach FTA – start and suspend and have my wife file for spousal benefits at that time. She will now be 71. Once I reach 70 and have the benefit of higher SS checks due to waiting -start my payments. I think this is where all the advice at this point in time is pointing me to.

By: Joe Plemon

Joe Plemon — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 23:10:26 +0000

Marco,
Thanks for thinking this through with us. As I understand filing and suspending, your strategy will indeed be better for Steve and his wife than the one I recommended.

Steve…are you reading? Why don’t you ask your Social Security office about both of these strategies and report back to us. I would like to know what they say!

By: Marco

Marco — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 02:13:39 +0000

In Steves case, it looks like by him drawing a spousal on his wifes $800, he would receive $400 from age 66-70. Total for both would be $1200. If, instead, he does a file and suspend at age 66, his wife would get a spousal at that time of $1275 (half of his fra $2550) which would be $75 more. At age 70, he would draw his $2550 plus increase while his wife would continue to receive $1275. Since $1275>$1200 he should NOT take a spousal on her SS from 66-70, but have her take a spousal under his file and suspend.

By: joeplemon

joeplemon — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:52:37 +0000

Steve,
Let me run this by you: It seems that a good strategy would be for you to draw a spousal benefit on what your wife is drawing, then, when you start your own benefit, she could start drawing a spousal benefit on yours (because 50% of your benefit will be more than what she is drawing on her own). However, I am not sure this would work unless you wait till FRA to begin drawing on hers. In other words, you draw a spousal benefit from age 66 to age 70. At that time, you start your own benefit, and your spouse switch to a spousal benefit (50% of what you draw). This is very similar to the scenario I used in the article under “Another Way to Claim a Spousal Benefit While Waiting”.

These rules are changing all of the time, so I strongly suggest you contact SSA to learn if this strategy is an option. Let me know what you learn!

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:45:15 +0000

Hi – have enjoyed reading the posts back and forth regarding spousal benefits and when to take them or not. Let me try and lay out a scenario to help with:

My wife is 64 and I am 59 and I am the higher earner. If my wife waits till FRA I assume she can start benefits on her own record coming soon. I will ask about tax implications and the SS benefits later in further posts since I will still be working.

I want to wait as long as possible before starting payments – till 70 if I can. She will be 75 at that point. Questions then are – when should I start my benefits (62 or FTA or 70) and when should she switch to the spousal benefit to get the maximum amounts…? As a basis – if we both wait until FRA to take benefits her benefit will be $800 and my FRA benefit will be $2550 according to the SS site.

Thanks much!

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By: joeplemon

joeplemon — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 18:48:19 +0000

Trying to help,

It is true that your friend’s mother could start could start drawing survivor benefits as early as age 60, but she could not receive the full $1200 unless she was full retirement age (66). That benefit is reduced based on how much younger than 66 the widow or widower would be.

Check this SS publication for more info: http://ssa.gov/pubs/10084.html

According to this publication, she would receive about 71% of the $1200, or about $850, but I would recommend going to the local SS office to get the exact amounts.

I hope this helps.