Thank you for taking the time to help clarify the intricacies of Social Security!

I'd like to confirm the amounts in the claiming strategy below.

I'm 60 (born 1956) and my wife is 55 (born 1961). Our birth month is the same. My FRA PIA per year is $28,000 and hers is $10,000.

I would like to delay filing until I'm 70, when my SS amount will be $36,000/year. Meanwhile, if my wife claims as soon as she turns 62, I hope to confirm that her Social Security payment would be $7,000/year for the next three years, then increase to $10,600 after I file when she's 65 (70% of $10,000 on her own account, and 90% of the $4,000/year spousal benefit started after I file). If I then die after she reaches her FRA of 67, her Social Security payment would be $36,000/year, unreduced by the fact that she began collecting at age 62.

Is this right, or what would the correct numbers for my wife's Social Security payments be? I would add that the various calculators tend to focus purely on maximization (in this scenario, I wait until 70, she waits until age 67), rather than allow one to game plan scenarios like the above, where we're sacrificing a bit of the maximization in order to start some Social Security income earlier.

Hi,

Everything looks about right to me except for the percentage reduction to your wife's potential spousal benefit. If she becomes eligible for spousal benefits at age 65 (i.e. 24 months prior to her full retirement age), the reduction rate would be 16.67%, rather than 10%. So, using your figures, she could expect around $3,333 per year in spousal benefits, as opposed to $3,600. Obviously, I have no way of knowing whether or not your base amounts of $28,000 and $10,000 are accurate, but except for the spousal reduction percentage, your other calculations look good.

And, yes, if you die before your wife and after she reaches age 67, she will receive your full benefit rate as a widow, inclusive of the delayed retirement credits you will earn by waiting until age 70 to start drawing. Technically, she would continue to get her own benefit plus an excess widow's benefit, but the total would add up to your full rate.

Best, Jerry