Regular readers of my column know that over the years,
I've dealt with many misunderstandings that people
have about their Social Security benefits. In fact, I
just wrote a column a couple of weeks ago that dealt
with many of these misconceptions. But I can tell from
the hundreds of emails I've received as a result of
that column that there is one issue people get wrong
more than any other.
So many women think that they can take reduced
benefits on their own Social Security record at age 62
and then, at some later age, switch to full (50
percent) benefits as a wife on their husband's
account. Or they think they can take reduced spousal
benefits at age 62 and then later switch to full
benefits on their own record.
You cannot do that. Let me state this very
emphatically: If you take reduced benefits on one
record, that reduction carries over to any other
Social Security benefits you might be due.
In other words, if you file for any kind of reduced
Social Security benefit, you must at the same time
apply for any and all other Social Security benefits
you are due.
So, for example, if a woman wants to take Social
Security at age 62, the Social Security Administration
will always pay her own benefits first. And those
benefits would come with a 25 percent early-retirement
reduction. At the same time, SSA will look at her
husband's account (assuming he's already getting
Social Security) to see if she can get any extra
benefits on his record. Her benefit could be
supplemented up to roughly 30 percent of his rate.
Or, if the husband is not yet getting Social
Security but files several years later, at that point,
SSA will see if she is due anything on his account.
But once again, because she took early retirement
benefits, that reduction carries over to any spousal
benefits she is due.
The technical term SSA uses for this is the
"unrestricted application policy." That means that an
application for one kind of Social Security benefit is
automatically an application for any and all other
Social Security benefits a person might be due.
Because most people are usually due benefits from only
two accounts — their own and a spouse's — in practical
day-to-day use, the policy is saying that if you apply
for your own Social Security benefit, you are
automatically applying for spousal benefits at the
same time.
So that's why you can't take reduced benefits on
one record and then later switch to full benefits on
another record.
But there are a couple important exceptions to this
rule. There are two times when a person can restrict
his or her Social Security application to just one
kind of benefit and then later switch to higher
benefits on another record.
One of those exceptions applies to widows or
widowers. For example, a widow (or divorced widow) can
take reduced widow's benefits at age 62 and then at
either age 66 or 70 switch to full benefits on her own
record. If she waits until that later age, her
benefits would come with a 32 percent delayed
retirement bonus.
The other exception applies to people who are over
age 66. In other words, if you don't take any kind of
reduced Social Security benefits, then you can
"restrict" your application. For example, a
66-year-old woman could file for wife's benefits on
her husband's Social Security record and then, at age
70, switch to full retirement benefits on her own
account. And once again, those benefits would come
with a 32 percent bonus.
Q: I am 65 years old and about to retire. I want to
get my full Social Security benefits. I was told by a
close friend that I could start out now, getting a
husband's benefit on my wife's Social Security account
(she's been getting Social Security for a couple years
now) and then, at 66, switch to my Social Security
account and begin getting my full rate. Is this true?
A. No, it's not true. And it's not true for the
same reasons I explained in the above answer. Even
though I generally was referring to women in that
answer, the same rules apply to men.
But as I explained in the prior answer, you could
wait until age 66 and, at that point, file for a
husband's benefit on your wife's Social Security
account. And then at age 70, you could switch to full
retirement benefits on your record and get that bonus.
Q: I was married and divorced three times. Each
marriage lasted more than 10 years. Can I get Social
Security from all of my prior husbands?
A: You are potentially due benefits from each
ex-husband, but you'll get Social Security benefits
from only one of them — the one who pays the highest
rate.
If you have a Social Security question, Tom
Margenau has the answer. Contact him at
thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about
Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features
from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists,
visit the Creators Syndicate website at
www.creators.com.
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