Q & A
I am 67 and retired this year. I am collecting Social Security spousal benefits on my husband’s work record, having deferred mine as I was working. Now that no income will be coming in, will that reduce the amount used by Social Security to average my income? Should I start the benefits now or should I wait until age 70 to collect? I do not need the income right now.
Answer: If you don’t need the income, you can boost your benefits substantially by waiting until age 70 to collect. For each year past full retirement age that you delay, benefits rise by up to 8 percent, depending on your year of birth (for those born after 1943, delayed retirement credits equal 8 percent per year, according to the Social Security Administration website.) Whether those few years of no income will affect your monthly benefits depends on how long you worked. Social Security generally bases benefits off your highest 35 years of earnings, not necessarily your last 35 years of earnings. If you were earning your highest lifetime salary right before you retired, and you “replace” those years in the calculation with lower-earning years, in theory it could reduce your benefits from the current projections.
Source: Chicago Tribune Company, LLC - October 4, 2013
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