Spousal Benefits: Applying for Social Security Benefits
March 5, 2010
Q: Can a spouse collect on her husband’s social security if she reaches retirement age before her husband?
A: No. In order for a wife to collect Social Security benefits on her husband’s earnings, the following requirements must be met:
- The wife must be at least age 62
- The husband must be eligible for benefits, so he must also be at least age 62. In addition, the husband must actually apply for Social Security retirement benefits in order for his wife to collect based on his earnings. The husband can then choose to delay collecting benefits. This strategy is referred to as “file and suspend”.
To give you an example, if the wife is 62 and the husband is 58, the wife can start collecting benefits based on her own earnings, but she can not collect based on her husband’s earnings until he turns 62 and applies for benefits.
Don’t Underestimate Social Security When Planning For Retirement
July 6, 2009
Most people underestimate the impact that Social Security will have on their retirement. They either assume it won’t be there for them, or that it won’t be enough to make a difference.
The truth is that Social Security will be there for you (although I suspect it will be revised several times to help improve the financial outlook of the system), and it could play a big part in your retirement years, depending on how much other income and assets you have available.
Social Security has several unique features that you won’t see in most financial products available today: