Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about the potential of continued income to raise benefit rates, who can take spousal benefits before retirement benefits and when they can do so and eligibility for divorced spousal benefits. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc.
See more Ask Larry answers here.
Have Social Security questions of your own you’d like answered? Ask Larry about Social Security here.
Will My Benefit Increase If I Continue Working?
Hi Larry, I took early retirement at 62 I am still working. I plan to keep working for a number of years still. Will this increase my retirement benefit rate? Thanks, Harold
Hi Harold, Continuing to work and pay into Social Security could potentially increase your benefit rate. Whether or not your additional earnings would increase your benefit rate though, depends on how much you earn in relation to what you earned in past years.
Social Security retirement benefits are based on an average of a person’s highest 35 years of Social Security covered wage-indexed earnings, so additional years of earnings only increase a person’s benefit rate if they’re higher than one or more of the 35 years currently being used to calculate the person’s benefit rate.
If your earnings in the years after you started collecting benefits are high enough to raise your benefit rate, Social Security should automatically increase your rate and pay you any additional benefits due. Best, Larry
If My Wife Files For Spousal Benefits Now, Can She Claim Her Higher Retirement Benefit Later?
Hi Larry, I was just was approved for my retirement benefits and am past my full retirement age. She reaches her full retirement age next year and her benefit will be more than half of mine.
Can she get spousal benefits for a number of years before she files on her own record and if so, will she then be able to get her higher retirement benefit or would she be she locked in to her lower spousal benefit? Thanks, Barney
Hi Barney, If your wife doesn’t reach full retirement age (FRA) until next year, then what you’re proposing isn’t a valid option for her. Since your wife was apparently born after 1/1/1954, she can’t apply for spousal benefits without also being required to apply for her retirement benefits at the same time.
And if her own primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than 50% of your PIA, then she won’t be eligible for spousal benefits no matter when she applies for benefits. A person’s PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at FRA.
Only people who were born prior to 1/2/1954 can get spousal benefits while letting their own benefit rate grow, and even they can only do so if they wait at least until their FRA to claim spousal benefits. Otherwise, a claim for spousal benefits is effectively also a claim for the person’s own Social Security retirement benefits. And if a person applies for benefits prior to their FRA, their benefit rate is reduced for age.
If your wife was, in fact, born prior to 1/2/1954, then she could file for spousal benefits now and switch to her own higher benefit at a later date. However, assuming that your wife was born after 1/1/1954 and if her own PIA is more than 50% of your PIA, then her only real option is deciding when to apply for her own benefits.
You and your wife may want to consider using my company’s software — Maximize My Social Security or MaxiFi Planner — to ensure your household receives the highest lifetime benefits. Social Security calculators provided by other companies or non-profits may provide proper suggestions if they were built with extreme care. Best, Larry
Can I File On My Ex’s Record?
Hi Larry, My ex husband told me I could choose between either a spousal benefit or his retirement benefit rate. I chose spousal but he then took me back to court and took my spousal away. Now that I am not working, can I get a benefit on his Social Security record? Does any of this sound right? Thanks, Michelle
Hi Michelle, People can’t bargain away their Social Security benefit rights in a divorce settlement, nor can a state or local court take away your right to Social Security benefits. So I’m having a hard time understanding your description of events.
Social Security would never pay you your husband’s Social Security retirement benefits, but you could potentially qualify for divorced spousal benefits if you meet the requirements. And if you qualify for divorced spousal benefits, you can apply for and be paid those benefits regardless of any agreement that you have or had with your ex. You don’t need his permission to claim divorced spousal benefits on his Social Security record.
In order to qualify for divorced spousal benefits though, you must meet the requirements for those benefits. That includes having been married to your ex for at least 10 years, being unmarried currently and being at least 62. Also, your ex would need to be at least 62 or collecting Social Security disability or retirement benefits.
And if you’re already collecting Social Security retirement or disability benefits, then you could only qualify for additional divorced spousal benefits while your ex is still living if 50% of his primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than your own 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).
If he pre-deceases you, you could also potentially qualify for divorced widow’s benefits, which would equal what he collects or is eligible to collect at the time he passes.
If you think that you meet the requirements, then you can call Social Security to file an application or to discuss your filing options. Best, Larry