When can a spouse start receiving his or her Social Security spousal benefit? A wife can begin collecting Social Security spousal benefits only after the following conditions are satisfied:
1. The spouse applying for the spousal benefit needs to be at least age 62
2. The husband will need to be eligible to receive benefits, therefore he should also be at least age 62. Additionally, the husband will have to actually sign up for Social Security retirement benefits for his wife to receive benefits based on his income. The husband may then decide to postpone receiving benefits. This course of action is called “file and suspend”.
To provide you with an illustration, if the wife is 62 and the husband is 59, the wife can begin receiving benefits calculated on her income, but she cannot receive benefits based on her husband’s income until he becomes 62 and starts receiving his own benefits.
On the other hand, if the wife is age 66 and her spouse is only 62, then the wife can start receiving calculated on her husband’s income (remember, the husband will have to submit an application for his benefits before his spouse will be able to collect based upon his income).
In the illustrations mentioned above, the wife can begin collecting benefits calculated on her own income as early as age 62 (assuming she's got a minimum of forty quarters of earnings and also qualifies for benefits on her own), then change to 1 / 2 of her husband’s benefit as soon as her husband qualifies for Social Security.
A few areas to take into account before applying for Social Security spousal benefits:
If a wife applies for spousal benefits calculated on her husband’s income when she attains full retirement age (age 66 for individuals retiring now), then she'll collect half of her husband’s primary insurance amount (PIA). On the other hand, if she starts collecting benefits at age 62, then her benefit will be reduced to just 35% of her husband’s PIA.
It doesn't help the spouse to wait until after reaching full retirement age to apply for benefits, as spousal benefits don't include delayed credits. Additionally, it does not benefit the wife if the husband waits to apply for benefits because she won't get any rise in benefits that he gets by waiting to collect benefits.
When a spouse gets to full retirement age and becomes qualified to apply for the spousal benefit or her own benefit, she may start collecting the spousal benefit now and hold off collecting her own benefit in order to accumulate delayed credits on her own benefit.
A person can collect Social Security spousal benefits determined by an ex-spouse’s income so long as you were married for a minimum of ten years and you are also presently unmarried. Should you have more than one ex-spouse which you meet the criteria regarding spousal benefits, you'll get the maximum benefit you are entitled to. One benefit that divorced spouses have over married spouses is the fact that a divorced spouse doesn't have to wait around for a former husband to make an application for benefits as long as the pair is divorced not less than 2 yrs when she applies.
As a final point, the Social Security retirement program is gender neutral, so although this article has assumed that the wife is usually the one applying for spousal benefits, if the wife earns more than the husband, the husband can apply for spousal benefits based on his wife’s earnings.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Social Security Retirement Benefit: Tips to Get the Most Out of your Social Security Most Out of Your Retirement Benefits
There are plenty of choices to make, both emotionally as well as monetarily, while you plan for retirement. One of the biggest choices you will need to make is when to begin collecting your Social Security retirement benefits. A few issues you may need to take into consideration include:
Should you begin Social Security at 62 or 66, or even later?
What is the best age should your spouse start collecting Social Security?
Will you receive your spouse's benefits if he/she dies before you?
Can you collect on your spouse's earnings record if he/she earned more than you?
How can you collect on your ex-spouse's income?
In case your mind wasn't spinning before, it is now! Below are some tips and ideas to help you get the most out of your Social Security retirement benefits:
Optimize Your Social Security Income:
Your retirement benefit will be based upon your highest 35 years of income which means that it is critical to get as many "high earning" years in as you possibly can. As a result, being employed even one year longer at a significant compensating position can make an impact in your retirement income.
Postpone Getting Your Social Security Income:
Social Security penalizes you for each month you receive your Social Security before you reach your full retirement age; the maximum penalty is 25% for people who start taking benefits at age 62. While starting your benefits early might be attractive, those people who are patient can improve their Social Security retirement benefits by approximately 30% (including COLA increases) by waiting until full retirement age.
Work Part-Time While in Retirement:
While you are limited in how much money you can bring in if you are under full retirement age and receiving Social Security, as soon as you attain full retirement age you may make as much income as you wish without your retirement benefits being lowered. Yet another idea may be to get a part-time job when you finally retire and postpone applying for Social Security benefits.
Collect Based upon Your Spouse's Benefits:
Whenever you are married, you are able to receive Social Security retirement benefits based on your own earnings, or you can collect half of your spouse's benefit, whichever is larger. If you and your spouse are not the same age, you will need to do some planning to make certain you get the maximum benefits, however this is definitely a technique to consider if one spouse earns a lot more than the other, or perhaps if one spouse has been out of the work force for several years.
Draw on Your Ex Spouse's Benefits:
The spousal benefit goes for ex-spouses also. If you were married to your ex-spouse for not less than 10 years, and you also are not presently married to another individual, you'll be able to collect up to 50% of your ex spouse's benefits. You do not have to speak with your ex-spouse to apply for your benefits; in reality they may never learn unless you advise them, and it won't affect their own benefits in the slightest.
These are just some stategies to help you get the maximum Social Security retirement benefits. Applying for your Social Security retirement income can be an extremely difficult decision and will affect the rest of your retirement, so remember to speak with a professional before you make any decisions on your own.
Should you begin Social Security at 62 or 66, or even later?
What is the best age should your spouse start collecting Social Security?
Will you receive your spouse's benefits if he/she dies before you?
Can you collect on your spouse's earnings record if he/she earned more than you?
How can you collect on your ex-spouse's income?
In case your mind wasn't spinning before, it is now! Below are some tips and ideas to help you get the most out of your Social Security retirement benefits:
Optimize Your Social Security Income:
Your retirement benefit will be based upon your highest 35 years of income which means that it is critical to get as many "high earning" years in as you possibly can. As a result, being employed even one year longer at a significant compensating position can make an impact in your retirement income.
Postpone Getting Your Social Security Income:
Social Security penalizes you for each month you receive your Social Security before you reach your full retirement age; the maximum penalty is 25% for people who start taking benefits at age 62. While starting your benefits early might be attractive, those people who are patient can improve their Social Security retirement benefits by approximately 30% (including COLA increases) by waiting until full retirement age.
Work Part-Time While in Retirement:
While you are limited in how much money you can bring in if you are under full retirement age and receiving Social Security, as soon as you attain full retirement age you may make as much income as you wish without your retirement benefits being lowered. Yet another idea may be to get a part-time job when you finally retire and postpone applying for Social Security benefits.
Collect Based upon Your Spouse's Benefits:
Whenever you are married, you are able to receive Social Security retirement benefits based on your own earnings, or you can collect half of your spouse's benefit, whichever is larger. If you and your spouse are not the same age, you will need to do some planning to make certain you get the maximum benefits, however this is definitely a technique to consider if one spouse earns a lot more than the other, or perhaps if one spouse has been out of the work force for several years.
Draw on Your Ex Spouse's Benefits:
The spousal benefit goes for ex-spouses also. If you were married to your ex-spouse for not less than 10 years, and you also are not presently married to another individual, you'll be able to collect up to 50% of your ex spouse's benefits. You do not have to speak with your ex-spouse to apply for your benefits; in reality they may never learn unless you advise them, and it won't affect their own benefits in the slightest.
These are just some stategies to help you get the maximum Social Security retirement benefits. Applying for your Social Security retirement income can be an extremely difficult decision and will affect the rest of your retirement, so remember to speak with a professional before you make any decisions on your own.
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