I will turn 70 in August, which is when I intended to begin my social security income. But I also will have a large retirement buyout from my employer in 2022, placing me into a much more expensive Medicare Part B bracket. Therefore, how can I delay receiving the first five months of social security benefits (August-December, 2022) until 2023? Do I sign up now and ask the 2022 payouts to be delayed for five months, or do I sign up online in January, 2023 and ask to receive five months retroactively? And....if I were to die at the end of 2022, can my wife claim those benefits retroactively? (A morbid question, but one never knows....) Thanks very much!

Hi. You couldn't sign up in advance and ask for your payments to be deferred until 2023. You could, though, defer applying for benefits until 2023 so that you won't receive any payments until then. You could still potentially claim up to 6 months of retroactive entitlement, so you could apply as late as February 2023 and still claim benefits effective with August 2022. And, as long as your back pay is paid in 2023, the income would count on your 2023 tax return even if it includes payment for benefits for months in 2022.

I can't tell you whether or not any of that is actually necessary, though. In fact, doing so could even be counter productive depending on how it affects your 2023 adjusted gross income. If your concern is your Part B premium rate, you may be able to avoid a paying a higher premium rate if your taxable income spikes as a result of your retirement. Retirement is considered a life-changing event (LCE), so it sounds like you might be able to avoid paying a higher Part B premium rate even if you have higher income for a given year due to receipt of a buyout resulting from your retirement. For more information on how that might apply in your case, refer to the rules explained on the following Social Security form: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-44-ext.pdf.

If you were to die before applying for benefits, your wife could NOT file a claim for your Social Security retirement benefits. She could, however, potentially claim widow's benefits on your account if she meets the eligibility requirements (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html).

Best, Jerry