Hmmm. That is a very wacko rule. You [speaking of the states that signed onto this] waived the right to SS benefits since you werenât paying in. Thatâs fair. But essentially [for many, like you] forfeiting the spousal benefit just because you have a decent pension of your own seems very Draconian.
It the offset and windfall that are the kickers. The pension gets reduced by the SS benefit or vice versa so @thumperâs meager SS and her pension are all she gets.
Itâs to prevent double dipping
@thumper1 thatâs exactly what happened to my mom. For whatever reason, she didnât know she couldnât collect 1/2 of my dads SS. My dad died fairly young also. It was a big shock to her and her income went down a lot after my dad passed away.
Yes, because of the windfall elimination provisions & govt offset, H will never be able to collect any spousal benefits from me. He never paid into SS for enough quarters to qualify for any benefits on his own, since he was a federal employee and just paid for the federal benefits & gets the federal pension. Iâm not complainingâit is what it is and we knew from day 1 what he would get and would NOT get, planned accordingly.
Just fyi - some teachers in Texas are not subject to the windfall reduction because they pay into SS AND Texas Teacher Retirement System. Austin ISD is one of thoseâŠ
@anxiousmom if they pay into both Texas and SS, then these provisions donât apply to them.
But are you sure? Folks here contribute a Medicare part so they can collect medicareâŠbut not regular SS.
Iâd be interested to hear what you find out @preironic . my husband took early SS at 62 (is 75 now) and I had thought my spousal benefit or survivor benefit would be based on his reduced benefit. I will be 66 in 1919 - am working and barring an unexpected windfall, will work till at least then but will be claiming spousal at that time - (have not worked long enough in the US to get my own - work pre kids was in the UK)
Swimcat - I think the person collecting the spousal benefit is the one who needs to have a birthdate before Jan 1, 1954. So Iâm not sure, but I donât think this will apply to you. Again, not an expert.
We talked to Social Security this morning. My current (reduced) payments are $1413. My husbands spousal amount will be $894. So yes, his amount IS based on my FRA, not the reduced amount. SS has been very helpful and responsive. Once you have your application submitted on line and processed, they assign a nice actual person who picks up the phone when you call.
We finished the online apps for me (62 in a few months) and H (already 66). Chose not to go with the above option of Hâs SS based on my SS. The online application did ask if he wanted to do that if applicable. It was actually long but easy to do online with info ready to plug in.
@mommdc - thanks. Iâve looked at the info before - as far as I understood it, it could help me get enough credits to get a tiny bit of SS but the payments would just be based on the years I have worked over here (that is what I paid in in the UK would not be taken into account, just period of time I did so) so I would still get more from spousal. Which I think is a good thing - there are these things called WEP (WIndfall Elimination program) and GPO (Government Pension Offset) that come into play if I had SS in my own right. Basically any pension from the UK would reduce any SS over here by some proportion - I think it is 2/3 of the UK pension for one of them, the other may be 1/2 (it is kind of like how teachers in certain states canât get SS). From researching it, which is very hard as it is confusing, spousal SS for me would not be affected by the small pension I am eligible to get from the UK.
âSwimcat - I think the person collecting the spousal benefit is the one who needs to have a birthdate before Jan 1, 1954. So Iâm not sure, but I donât think this will apply to you. Again, not an expertâ we are both born before that - 1942 for H, 1953 for me.
I think I read something a few years back where the spousal benefit would be base on the reduced pension but that it can only be reduced by a certain % so not the full reduction. Or something - it is very complex. Hopefully the SS office will know what they are doing when the time comes.
Actually, my husband was at the SS office a few years back and they did print off something showing what my spousal benefit would be. I seem to think It was more than 50% of the reduced benefit he is getting but not as much as 50% of what he would have got at FRA. I wish I still had that print out - he threw it away. I swear it is about the only piece of paper he has EVER thrown away! And it had to be something useful.
Maybe time for him to pay a visit to the SS office.
BummerâŠIâm collecting SSâŠbut 8m older than my spouse. Guess all of this doesnât apply to usâŠat all.
Swimcat - it looks to me that when you turn 66, you can put in a restricted spousal application and you will collect 50% of your husbandâs FRA.
Thumper - depends. Is your husband collecting yet? If not and he was born before Jan 1, 1954, he can claim on your account when he turns 66.
My husband is youngerâŠborn in 1953âŠand is not yet collecting.
There is NO way he would want any portion of my SS benefit instead of his own at ANY time. RememberâŠmy monthly benefit is only $203 a month and that will start in January. Now itâs only $187.
I guess he could collect $100 a month if he decides to wait until he is 70 to collect on his own earningsâŠwoohoo.
I donât actually know when my mother began collecting Social Security. But I do know by the time she was 72 she was no longer traveling or reading or doing anything independently. So I started collecting at my FRA of 66. Just in case.
We are a couple years away from my husband collecting early if he wants (he just turned 60). Half of his is more than my full amount, so we are planning on me filing based on his. We are nine years apart, so that will be a while.
We are mulling over the options, which could change between now and then I guess. At this point we both feel that, based on what @Wellspring said above, weâd rather collect a reduced amount early for longer. Statistically itâs all supposed to even out, whether you take it early for longer or more for fewer years. If you take it early your own assets can continue to grow, a bird in the hand, the government changes things, etc.
We would rather have it now to invest on our own. It seems impossible to know what changes the future holds or even try to predict them.