Effects of Taking Early Social Security Benefits

Hi Larry, My wife is 67 and a year ago or so, she started her Social Security retirement benefit based on her own earnings record at her full retirement age 66. I am now over 69 and planning on delaying a few more months until I am age 70 in to start my benefit. Assuming I die after having started to receive my age 70 benefit, what amount will my wife get as a widow's benefit? Will it be 100% of the amount I started getting at 70? Or will she get only the smaller amount I would have gotten if I had taken my benefit at my full retirement age 66? Thanks, Tomas

Hi Tomas, If you die before your wife, she'll get the higher of her own benefit rate or your full benefit rate. So if you wait until 70 to start drawing your benefits, your wife would get your full age 70 rate as a widow. Technically, she'd continue to be paid her own benefits, plus the difference between that amount and your benefit amount as a widow. The total, though, would add up to your full age 70 rate. Best, Larry

What If I Take My Social Security Benefits At 62 Rather Than Wait?​​

Hi Larry, My Social Security retirement benefit will be about $750 benefit if I take it now at 62 while at my FRA, it will be about $1,000. My health is good and I have no house payment and no bills. Should I take the money now rather than wait till I'm 66 and six months? Thanks, Alan

Hi Alan, I generally believe that f you don't need the money now, you should probably wait until age 70 to start drawing. If your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is equal to your full retirement age (FRA) retirement benefit amount, is $1000, your retirement benefit rate at age 70 if you wait until then to start drawing would be roughly $1,280. That said, when to start drawing your benefits is entirely a personal decision which you'll need to decide for yourself. Best, Larry

Can A 67 Year Old Man Work Part-Time Without Affecting His Social Security Check?​​

Hi Larry, I'm 67 and have filed for my benefit at 63 though I didn't receive it due to the income I received from a job I started just before my benefits were set to begin. I started getting them when I turned 66 and I also stopped working just before turning 66. Now I'm set to go back to work once again but I don't want to lose my benefits this time. Can I work at 67 and still receive my Social Security retirement benefits? Thanks, Carl

Hi Carl, Yes, a person who is 67 could work part time or full time without losing any of their Social Security benefits. Once a person reaches their full retirement age (FRA), which could be anywhere from age 66 to 67 depending on their year of birth, there is no longer any limit on the amount that they could earn and still receive all of their Social Security benefits. This is because the earnings test is only applied up t the month you reach your FRA. Best, Larry

Hi Larry, I begin collecting my benefits at 62. I'm single and I have no kids and am 65. Is there a way to increase my benefit amount? Thanks, Drew

Hi Drew, You'll always have a reduced benefit since you started your benefits at 62. Unless you would qualify for higher benefits on the account of a former spouse, it sounds like there are only two ways that you could get a higher benefit rate. One would be by working and earning more in a year or years than in one or more of the highest 35 years of wage-indexed earnings previously used to calculate your current benefit rate.

The other way that you could potentially increase your benefit rate is by voluntarily suspending your benefits from 66 to age 70. That would give you a 32% higher benefit amount when you resume drawing your benefits at 70, but it would mean doing without any Social Security payments for four years. Or you could suspend your benefits for only a portion of those four years, but that would mean less of a rate increase. Your benefit rate would be increased by 2/3rds of 1% for each month that you voluntarily suspend your benefits between ages 66 & 70. You may want to use one of my company's two tools — Maximize My Social Security or MaxiFi Planner — to help maximize your lifetime Social Security benefits. Social Security calculators provided by other companies or non-profits may provide proper suggestions if they were built with extreme care. Best, Larry

Can A Spouse Collect Her Social Security At 62 And Then Switch To Her Full Spousal Benefits At Full Retirement Age?​​

Hi Larry, Can my wife start drawing her Social Security retirement benefit at 62 but then still be able to get all of her spousal benefits when I file for my retirement benefit? In other words, will her spousal benefit be equal to half of my benefit amount once she switches to her spousal benefit based on my record or will filing for her own retirement benefit early mean her spousal benefit will then be smaller too? Thanks, Doug

Hi Doug, A spouse can't file for their own benefits at 62 and then switch to unreduced spousal benefits at full retirement age (FRA) and get half of their spouse's benefit rate. This is because the spouse taking their own retirement benefit at 62 would be penalized by receiving a reduced benefit rate for as long as both they and their spouse are living. Once you file for your own Social Security retirement benefit, that becomes your primary benefit for life. Any other benefits for which you may later qualify could only be paid as a partial, secondary benefit.

For example, say Carly files for her retirement benefits at 62. Carly's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is equal to her full retirement age (FRA) retirement benefit amount, would be $900, but Carly takes a reduced rate of $660 in return for starting her benefits early. When Carly reaches FRA, her husband files for his benefits and Carly files for spousal benefits. Carly's husband's PIA is $2,000, and Carly's unreduced excess spousal benefit rate would be calculated by subtracting her PIA from 50% of her husband's PIA, which in this case would be $100 (i.e. $2,000 / 2 – $900). Since Carly is FRA when she becomes eligible for her spousal benefit, her spousal rate is not reduced for age. Thus, Carly would receive $100 as a spouse in addition to her reduced retirement benefit for a combined benefit rate of $760 (i.e. $660 + $100). Best, Larry