Thank you for sharing your knowledge! I’m 67 in May 2023, it’s April, and I received a letter from the SSA stating that I can apply and qualify for retirement benefits. In the letter it states and I quote, “You should get in touch with us right away because the date you file can make a difference in the amount of benefits we can pay.” “if you file application within 6 months of the date of this letter, we will use April 13, 2023, the date of the original request, as the filing date.”
I’m not planning on retiring for a couple of more years. I’m retired from the government CSRS since 2011 with 37 years service and drive a school bus presently part time which I suppose has qualified me for SS retirement benefits. I hadn’t planned on applying but my wife who is 62 in June has already applied for her SS and she might get more if I apply too? Draw off of me and vice versa?
My 2 questions are what is so important about when I should apply? And could my wife draw more off of me?
Hi. There's no reason to apply for benefits until you want to start drawing them. What you apparently received is called a six-month closeout letter, which Social Security sends to people who have established a protective filing date but haven't yet applied for benefits. In your case, the protective filing date was likely established as a result of you being listed as a spouse on your wife's application for benefits. In any case, unless you want to start drawing benefits now, you can simply ignore the closeout letter.
Your wife could only receive spousal benefits from your account if your primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than twice as much as her own PIA. And, the only way that you could qualify for spousal benefits from your wife's record is if her PIA is more than twice as much as your PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).
In case you aren't aware of it, unless you paid Social Security taxes on the earnings on which your CSRS pension is based, then your PIA will likely be lowered due to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). WEP can cause a person's PIA to be calculated based on a less generous computation formula than the one that's normally used to calculate a person's PIA (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf).
Our software is fully programmed to handle both WEP and non-WEP PIA calculations, so you should strongly consider using the software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.
Best, Jerry
