Hi Larry,

My husband turned 62 in October, 2018 and lost his job December 2016. He has been unsuccessful in finding a job despite diligent efforts over the last 2 years. I will turn 55 this month (March 2019). We have a developmentally disabled son age 22 (disabled before 22) who collects SSI ($534/mnth) I haven't worked in many years as I have always stayed home to care for our son. My retirement benefit at FRA would be $1051/mnth I am considering returning to the workforce but my earning potential would be little. My husband's retirement benefit at FRA would be $2886/mnth.. His benefit now would be $2150/mnth. I understand if my husband retires, my son would be entitled to a DAC benefit and I, a child in care benefit, however, I have gotten 3 different answers from social security representatives about this and the MFB.. One of us would likely still have to find employment in order to live. We do have some assets to draw on however that is a scary predicament at such a young age. Should he file now? Or draw from our assets and work if possible? Ideally, who should work if there is a choice? There are a lot of moving parts here. Thank you for your urgent help. My husband actually went ahead and filed and i urgently need to determine if that was a mistake.

Hi,

There's no absolute best filing strategy for your family. Your husband filing for his benefits now will allow all of you to draw benefits sooner, but comes at the cost of a lower benefit rate for your husband. And, if he dies before you the fact that he took his benefits early will limit your potential future widow's rate to the higher of a) your husband's reduced benefit rate, or b) 82.5% of his primary insurance amount (PIA). A person's PIA is the equivalent of their full retirement age (FRA) benefit rate, so if your husband's PIA is $2886 then your widow's rate could be limited to roughly $2381 (i.e. $2886 x .825).

On the other hand, if your husband waited until age 70 to start drawing his benefits, he would receive delayed retirement credits (DRC) that would increase his benefit amount by roughly 29.33%, or to around $3732 if his PIA is $2886. And, that higher rate would also potentially carry over as your unreduced widow's rate. But, that would of course mean that none of you would receive any benefits from your husband's Social Security record for the next 8 years, and maybe that's not a viable option for you.

Whenever your husband decides to start drawing his benefits, the family maximum benefit (FMB) on his record would likely be calculated at 175% of his PIA, or roughly $5050 if his PIA is $2886. To calculate the maximum total that dependents can be paid, the PIA is subtracted from the FMB, which would likely amount to $2164 (i.e. $5050 - $2886) in your family's case. Normally, disabled adult child's (DAC) benefits and child in care spousal benefits are calculated based on 50% of the worker's PIA, but if both you and your son qualify for benefits your benefit rates would be limited by the FMB to roughly $1082 each (i.e. $2164/2). Furthermore, your son's Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits will be offset basically dollar for dollar by the amount of his DAC benefits, so it sounds like his SSI will stop as soon as his DAC benefits begin.

Only you and your husband can decide what's best for your family, but you'll want to base your decision on accurate information. You should strongly consider using our software to verify the accuracy of your husband's PIA and the resulting family benefit rates, and to fully compare all of your options so that you can make the best possible choice.

Best, Jerry