Ask Larry: Questions and Answers

I'm 71 and have been taking full SS benefit. My wife will begin SS when she turns 66.5 yr old. I understand that she will automatically get the larger of either her own 66.5 SS amount OR a spousal benefit of 1/2 my amount. Do I understand correctly that if it is the spousal benefit, she can change at age 70 to her own benefit at the age 70 amount, but if they give her her own 66.5 yr amount, she is stuck with that amount for life? Spousal + her age 70 amount would be a better deal long term, but is she locked out from that if they automatically give her her own 66.5 amount? . . . Read More

I am 66 and started collecting $2,500/mo last July. My wife will be 66 in Aoril of 2021 and can collect $1,900/mo shortly thereafter. Should she proceed or is there a better way to proceed?

Hi,

Your wife will only be eligible for her own benefit since it's clearly more than half of your full rate. She could apply for her benefits any time between now and age 70, and basically, the sooner she starts drawing the lower her monthly rate will be. It mostly comes down to which option she's most comfortable with.

If you die before your wife she then . . . Read More

My wife and I have begun planning for our future family, and that includes determining how much life insurance we need. To avoid purchasing excess life insurance, I looked up the tentative amount of the Survivor's Benefit generated by my earnings to date. I was pretty surprised at the amount payable to my child if I were to die this year: $2,144 a month!

That's a significant amount of money and one that suggests I can materially reduce the amount of life insurance that I would otherwise purchase. It also raises the following question: can I really trust this amount or . . . Read More

I have been getting spousal SS benefits. I turn 70 early January. Do I need to notify Soc. Sec. or will they automatically switch me to my own benefits. Thanks

Hi,

Social Security can't switch you to drawing your own benefits unless and until you apply for those benefits. Assuming that you have enough work credits to qualify for benefits based on your own work record, the only way that you could be collecting only spousal benefits is if you specifically excluded your own Social Security retirement benefits from the scope of your application when you . . . Read More