Posted on 05/12/2010 12:42:03 PM PDT by Kaslin
Dear Carrie: While I am still employed, can my nonworking wife retire and receive Social Security benefits? -- A Reader
Dear Reader: There's a lot of confusion about whether or not a nonworking spouse is entitled to Social Security benefits, so I'm glad you asked this question. The short answer is that a nonworking spouse who has reached age 62 can collect Social Security based on the working spouses earning's record, once the working spouse has filed for benefits.
You say that you're still employed, so I'm going to assume that you're not collecting Social Security yet. I'm also going to assume, for the sake of simplicity, that your wife doesn't qualify for her own benefits. (If she did, she could file in her own name regardless of your filing status once she turned 62.) If my assumptions are accurate, while your wife may be eligible for Social Security benefits, she can't collect until you file for benefits yourself.
This sounds clear enough, but as with so much that has to do with the government and money, there are a number of rules and exceptions to complicate things a bit.
WHAT AND WHEN A NONWORKING SPOUSE CAN COLLECT
The Social Security benefit of a nonworking spouse is 50 percent of the full benefit of the working spouse. So if your full benefit is $2,000, your wife would be able to collect $1,000. However, the age limits that apply to worker benefits also apply to spousal benefits. There are two choices. Your wife can:
-- Take Social Security at age 62. But the 50 percent spousal benefit would be further reduced by about 25 percent for the rest of her life.
-- Wait until what the IRS designates as her "full retirement age" (between 65 and 67, depending on when she was born) to receive the full spousal benefit. In this case, she will receive 50 percent of your full benefit.
Just for the record, there is an exception to the age requirement if your spouse is caring for your child who is under age 16.
WHY TIMING IS IMPORTANT
Both you and your wife should give a lot of thought to when to begin collecting Social Security. For instance, if you applied early at age 62, your benefit would be permanently reduced. If your wife also elected to take Social Security early, her 50 percent benefit would be permanently reduced. That could make a big hole in your monthly income.
While it might seem smart to begin taking benefits as soon as possible -- after all, you'll then collect checks for a longer period of time -- it's a good idea to look at your "break-even age" before making a final decision. This is how long you need to live to make sure choosing a later date will give you greater lifetime benefits. You can find a break-even calculator at IRS.gov. It's definitely worth a look. Chances are, the longer you can each wait, the better.
ANOTHER STRATEGY
You don't say how old you are, but if you've reached your full retirement age, you could file for benefits, even though you're still working, and your wife could then file for the spousal benefit. At full retirement age, there's no limit on the amount you can earn and still collect full benefits. However, if you prefer to delay taking your own benefits, there's another strategy to consider. The IRS lets you file for Social Security and then immediately suspend your benefits. This would allow your wife to begin collecting a spousal benefit based on your earnings while you continue to work. At the same time, your own future benefit would continue to grow. Another plus to this strategy is that the larger your eventual benefit, the larger your wife's survivor benefit. That's because, should you die first, your wife would collect 100 percent of your Social Security.
As you can see, there are a number of things to consider. I'd suggest you talk to your financial or tax adviser about the best strategy for both you and your wife. A little planning can help maximize the total benefit for your household. And why not? After all, you've earned it!
And don’t forget the bon-bons.
yep
It wasn't designed to be an only source of income that would fully support someone in their old age.
No problem, as soon as polygamy becomes the law of the land I’m gonna marry all my grandkids before I check out and let them collect “government money” in perpetuity.
If I collected welfare my whole life, when is the soonest I can start collecting my social security money?
Everyone eats bon-bons. Just don’t tell Michelle or she might take off her big belt and put it to use.
Good thinking! That could be their inheritance.
Oh, no. I know the coffers are empty. Wasnt it this year they stopped taking in enough to cover the current expenditures?
However, make note and watch the feigned surprise when they have to raise the retirement age, or taxes, or both to cover the ongoing costs.
They will all break their fingers pointing everywhere except at themselves.
If they were really honest, they would point their fingers at us, and say, “Why didn’t you stop me?”
And no, I'm not insinuating that gangs in Chicago have concerned parents. Which is exactly the point. Kids with too much unsupervised freedom will find trouble one way or the other.
I don't baby my kids, but they don't have to worry about me not being available when they need me. And someone like you would probably be surprised how much a kid needs their mom (or dad) to talk about what good or bad thing happened to them while at school.
I'm glad that your neighborhood family has great kids. Can you count more than 1 family in your neighborhood like that? 'Cause I can count a lot more two parent working families in my neighborhood that need more supervision for their kids than just 1. Most of them have preteen/teenagers.
Possibly, or he feels inadequate about his ability to provide for his own. ;) Not every family can afford to have a full-time parent at home. But for those that can or aspire to, good luck to them. It’s not something I’ll regret. I’ll finish my degree one day. ;) I’m happy I was able to be there to support my husband and my children. I can always work for someone else...that’s nothing special.
Johnny is 12 right now. We’re still seeing what he can learn. He is able to learn, but MUCH more slowly than his peers.
His verbal abilities are well below average, but he is able to speak — the same with his cognitive abilities. The more complex or abstract the idea, the less likely he is to understand it. The one exception to this is his ability to understand his religion — he gets that just fine, including his ability to serve as an altar boy at the Latin Mass we attend. He is also an exceptional speller (far better than his straight-A brother).
I believe in miracles, too, PNSN, but I must admit it gets harder as the years go by...Thank God he seems to be physically healthy at this time. We were lucky to have the finest pediatric heart surgeon in the world perform his heart surgery when he was a baby. Had he been born only a few years earlier, his chances would have been far worse.
Ah, there’s no sense complaining. This is our cross to bear, and we will bear it. Your initial comment about growing up just hit a chord, is all...please forgive my rant.
Regards,
I am not sure if that is true or not, I believe it depends on how long you both had been married to each other
I’m a professional, full-time parent. Aren’t you the one who questioned just how long a kid needed to be raised? Either you don’t have kids or you shouldn’t have kids if you have to ask that kind of question.
Now look what you’ve done. He’s gone and gotten potty mouth on you!
You think a wife doesn’t do anything while she stays home> Do you think raising children, nursing them back to health when they are sick, or cleaning the house, doing the cooking, laundry, shopping for groceries, ect is nothing?
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