Claiming Social Security: The Most Popular Questions

Just ab FYI. The spousal benefit option is still available if born before 1954. My spouse collects 1/2 of my SS payment monthly under this provision and can until she is70. Until then her SS benefit grows at 8% annually. Not much is said about this because most believe it was done away with under the last Administration but it was grandfathered in for those born before 1954.

Editor's note: Thanks Ralph. This is the "File and Suspend" strategy, and people born before 1954 are grandfathered in for it. But, if you haven't already taken it, it is too late.

Also be aware that if you have above a certain income 2 years before you retire - for example, high salary, big bonus, inheritance, lottery winnings - your SS earnings may be docked for high Medicare “premiums”. So if you’re lucky enough to have a high income, save some of that $ for when you start SD and Medicare! Apparently sometimes people spend, for example, an inheritance then are shocked when 2 years later they need that for Medicare premiums - and SS will be docked if not paid. No one at SSA could explain why I got no SS for months until finally one smart employee figured it out. Lucky we had savings!

So it sounds like one more reason to start collecting early; spousal survival benefits. If both spouses wait until full retirement age and one spouse drops dead before that date, the surviving spouse would lose out on the deceased survival benefits.

Editor's note: The surviving would get either their own benefit of that of the deceased spouse, whichever is higher. Even the spouse dies before their FRA, the survivor would be getting a benefit higher than if they had filed earlier.

Jini and others -- A possible way to avoid the higher Medicare premiums based on prior 2 years earnings after your retirement is to file a one-time form SSA-44. This form will advise Medicare of your "life-changing event" (retirement), so that your prior 2 years of earnings will NOT be used to calculate your Medicare payment. Instead, your Medicare payment will be based on your anticipated retirement income.

Not all Social Security representatives seem to be aware of this form. I retired last year, and had taken this form into my local office and filed it in person with a statement from my employer confirming I retired. My Medicare payment was adjusted downward. I've gotten letters twice since then, trying to adjust my payment back up. Each time, I've taken a copy of my original SSA-44 into my local office and the payment was adjusted back down. It's been worth the minor aggravation.

Confused by the editors reply to my previous comment. The article states that spousal benefits based on the earnings of the other spouse but the other spouse must currently be collecting the benefit. If both spouses are waiting until FRA to collect and one spouse dies prior to FRA, how can the surviving spouse collect a spousal benefit? What am I misunderstanding?

Editor's note: I see the confusion. Here is what we think happens. Even though the deceased spouse hasn't filed, the survivor would still be entitled to benefits based on the deceased spouse's earning record (or the survivor's record if higher). We can't find a specific example of how this works, but it seems logical that the benefit would be based on the deceased spouse's record at the time of death or when the survivor files for benefits.

My wife died a few years ago at the age of 56. I am now 63. I filed for survivors benefits (last year) based on her work record and now receive $775 a month. In a few years, I will cancel that and file for my own benefits based on my work record. I will then get $2,100 a month at age 66 (FRA) or $2,700 a month if I wait until I'm 70.

Can't overestimate the importance of being aware of spousal benefits if you were born before 1954. Few couples seem to realize they have this option. The key for us is that our maximum monthly SS benefits are reasonably close in dollars. So our strategy is to have the spouse with the lower payment (in our case, wife) begin taking the full benefit, while the spouse takes the spousal benefit (50 percent). The higher monthly benefit continues to grow. Within 2.5 years, that higher monthly benefit's survivor benefit will exceed the maximum benefit that the lower monthly payment could possibly grow to. It's like getting a few free years of half a benefit. In my husband's 69th year he will take his own full benefit, which is the amount I will get if he dies. Waiting has allowed that survivor benefit to grow. It's confusing, but it can be worth puzzling out. And no one tells you about this unless they're doing it themselves!

Exactly, Pam. My husband and I are using the same strategy for the same reasons. I learned about it from Laurence Kotlikoff's book, "Get What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security".

Like many of life's decisions, the more research we do on the front end the fewer regrets we are likely to have on the back end.

Spousal benefit is going away..
ttps://www.msn.com/en-us/money/retirement/this-social-security-spousal-rule-is-officially-finished-in-2024-but-these-3-strategies-remain/ar-AA1mRJBF?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=c6b33dec453342bd87fb642c2c473fe6&ei=59