Ask Larry

hi i am 63 my wife is 62
she worked in past and has a fra of 692
i am still working and plan to work for a while at least (god willing). my fra is 2680

if she files now she loses 25% of her fra. but if she waits to 66 to claim spousal or god forbid widows will she be negatively impacted

please advise
thanks
tom

Hi Tom,

Your wife could still potentially receive an unreduced widow's benefit on your record even if she takes her own benefits early. However, she'll be stuck with the reduced rate for as long as both of you are living, even if she later becomes eligible for an excess spousal benefit when you file for your benefits.

If you were born prior to January 2 1954 and your wife does take her benefits early, you could file just for spousal benefits when you reach full retirement age and allow your own rate to grow until age 70. That higher rate would also carry over to your wife's potential widow's benefit rate if you die first. You may want to strongly consider running the maximization software available of the website in order to determine the best overall filing strategy for you and your wife.

Best, Jerry