Ask Larry

Please address the following
1.At what age, will benefits maximize
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2.Can you receive benefits from a deceased spouse and or from your own employment contributions of 28 years of working.
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3.When and What are the projected percentage of increases and at what intervals?/time frame of receiving benefits?
Sybil

Hi Sybil,

The answer to your first question depends on the type of benefit involved. For example, Social Security retirement benefits grow until age 70 if a person waits until then to start drawing them. But, widow(er) benefits do not get any higher if a person waits past their full retirement age (FRA) to start drawing.

You can receive survivor benefits on the account of a divorced spouse and Social Security retirement benefits based on your own earnings, but you can't draw both benefits in full at the same time. If you apply for more than one type of Social Security benefit you can only be paid the higher of the 2 benefit rates. People who are eligible for both survivor and retirement benefits can, however, potentially file for just one of those benefits initially and then switch to the other benefit when it reaches it's maximum rate.

I'm not sure exactly what question 3 is asking. Some benefit rates are reduced for age if a person claims them prior to FRA, but the percentage rate of reduction varies depending on the type of benefit involved and the number of months prior to FRA that the benefits are claimed. The percentage rate that delayed retirement credits (DRC) increase Social Security retirement benefits between FRA and age 70 is 2/3rds of 1% per month, or 8% per year.

Best, Jerry