My wife retired from school system at age 50. She chose the income leveling option to for her pension payment. She is now 59 and I am 63. I have not claimed SS yet. We have a 12 year old daughter.
What impact does income leveling have on determining my wife's and our family benefits?

Thanks

Hi,

I'm sorry, but I'm not familiar with your wife's pension program nor it's income leveling option. What I can tell you is that assuming that your wife's earnings were exempt from Social Security taxes while she worked for the school system and if she's receiving her pension, any Social Security spousal benefits for which she would qualify for on your record would likely be offset by 2/3rds of the amount of her pension from the school system (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). That could zero out her potential spousal benefits if her pension from the school system is more than 150% of her spousal rate.

Since you have a minor child you have a number of possible options to consider when it comes to your Social Security benefits. Your best strategy depends in large part on your anticipated earnings between now and your full retirement age, as well as your wife's pension amount and whether or not she could qualify for Social Security benefits on her own account. You should strongly consider using our maximization software in order to explore and compare all of your options so that you can choose the best possible filing strategy for your family.

Best, Jerry