Latest News
The Importance of Discussing When to Start Your Social Security Benefits with Your Spouse - The Motley Fool
If you and your spouse are close in age, starting your benefits at the same time may not always be the best option for you. You both need to consider your life expectancy, health, and other retirement funds, such as savings, 401(k)s, IRAs, and pensions. Who is going to have the highest benefit? How heavily dependent will you be on your Social Security benefits? How heavily dependent will the lower-earning spouse be on your higher benefit? The surviving spouse, regardless of which one of you it is, only gets to keep the highest of the two Social Security benefits you receive.
The lower-earning spouse may be eligible for a spousal benefit that they can’t receive until the higher benefit earner starts their own benefits. A spousal benefit is given when the 50% of the higher earner’s full retirement age (FRA) benefit is more than 100% of the lower earner’s FRA benefit. If your spouse is eligible, they will receive a benefit equal to 50% of your higher benefit if they have reached their FRA.
Kailey Hagen has written an article about things a married couple should consider when deciding when to claim their Social Security benefits. Read her full article here ….
The link provided above connects readers to the full content of the posted article. The URL (Internet address) for this link is valid on the posted date; socialsecurityreport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the link’s validity. Also, the opinions expressed in these postings are the viewpoints of the original source and are not explicitly endorsed by AMAC, Inc.; the AMAC Foundation, Inc.; or socialsecurityreport.org.
If you have further questions about Social Security and would like to speak with an NSSA Accredited AMAC Foundation Social Security Advisor, please email your questions to ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org or call (888) 750-2622 to speak with an advisor today.