Social Security benefit suspension underwent some major changes a couple of years ago. It’s not anywhere near as useful as it used to be.
delayed retirement credit
Social Security Spousal Benefit at or After FRA
Some time ago I wrote an article on the Social Security Spousal Benefit Before FRA, and an astute reader (thanks, SD!) pointed out the obvious to me: I hadn’t written the complementary piece on calculating the spousal benefit at or after FRA. So let’s get right to it! When you wait until Full Retirement Age to file for spousal benefits, there is no reduction of that portion of your benefits. In other words, the spousal benefit will be based on 50% of your spouse’s PIA minus your own PIA, and then this amount will be added to whatever retirement benefit that you’re receiving on your own record. This additional benefit can’t increase your total benefit to a point greater than 50% of your spouse’s PIA. Here are some examples: Started own benefits early Alice and Terry are both age 66. Alice started her own benefit early, at age 62. Her […]
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A Good Reason to File and Suspend: Back Benefits
Note: with the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 into law, File & Suspend and Restricted Application have been effectively eliminated for anyone born in 1954 or later. If born before 1954 there are some options still available, but these are limited as well. Please see the article The Death of File & Suspend and Restricted Application for more details. In particular, the provision discussed below is no longer available to anyone. We’ve discussed the file and suspend option in the past as it relates to enabling your spouse or dependents to begin receiving benefits based on your record while you delay filing to accrue the delay credits. But there’s another reason that you might want to file and suspend at Full Retirement Age (FRA) – and this one has little to do with a spouse, even single folks can take advantage of this. When you file and […]
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A Few Things for a Single Person to Consider When Planning Social Security Filing
The decision of when to begin receiving Social Security benefits can be a bit daunting, because there are many things to take into account when making this decision. The basic concept of the lifetime value of benefits taken at various ages is the most common thing to consider, when this is really not as important as you might think. This is especially true for single person – since the benefit reduction and increase factors are designed to achieve a similar lifetime result for the average lifespan. In other words, if you are an average person with an average lifespan, it won’t make much difference at what age you file for benefits, as you’ll receive approximately the same amount by the end of your average life, whenever you begin receiving the benefits. However. Another factor that you need to keep in mind is how Social Security benefits are treated, tax-wise. At […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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