Question about two SSI accounts (husband/wife)

[PeterB456245]

My wife and I are both retired, both upper 60’s, and both have SSI accounts, but haven’t started taking them yet. I’m reasonably healthy, but she is too, and statistically, she’s likely to outlive me. My proposed benefit payment is considerably more than hers.

I wasn’t going to start taking benefits until I had to (ie 70 1/2 currently?), since we are fairly comfortable financially, and my benefit will increase if we wait. Also, our understanding is that if I die first, as a surviving spouse she gets to receive my benefit…but not *both* mine and hers.

So we’re thinking, in a practical sense, we maybe should have her start taking her benefit now, since if if I get hit by a truck next year, at that point she effectively loses her benefit (and switches to mine).

Does that make sense? Do we have our facts right?

[GailL1]

@PeterB456245 

Terms and abbreviations are very important when dealing with Social Security and other government agencies - it is important to use the right one.

SSI is Supplemental Security Income - a welfare program for those that are blind, disabled or over the age of 65 and do not qualify for a Social Security benefit or not one that is higher than the SSI limit of $ 994 a month and is also reduced by in-kind payments.

I believe you are talking about your Social Security Retirement benefits.  

1.  ALWAYS take your Social Security Retirement Benefit at 70 years old because it stops the deferred earnings at that time. IOW, it stops earning any extra when one hits 70.   So no reason to keep it just sitting there.

2.  Survivors benefits pays the surviving spouse the higher benefit - their own OR their deceased spouse.  

3.  Your wife can definitely file for her own retirement benefits - at least 62 years of age is earliest retirement.  The highest full retirement age(FRA)  is 67 so she could be anywhere in between.  If she files BEFORE she has reached her FRA, her benefit will be reduced somewhat -  

4.  If you go ahead and file then she also has access to Spousal Benefits off your record - which will be 50% of your FRA base benefit (not with the delayed retirement credits added in up until you reach 70).  You have to have filed for your Spousal benefits to be open to her.  But if you do that, then SSA will compare her own benefits to her Spousal Benefits off your record and will pay her the larger of the two.  Again if she takes either of these before her FRA, they will be reduced. 

If you aren’t 70 yet and want to wait, she can just file for her own benefits now and then when you do file and her Spousal is larger, SSA can switch her from her own benefits to her Spousal benefits.

Do not confuse SPOUSAL benefits with SURVIVORS benefits - I have described both here separately.

[OneDayMatisyahu]

Fist go to the official ----> SSA.gov website for basic informational background.

Survivor benefits  ------->  https://www.ssa.gov/survivor = directly answers your specific questions

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 🤔    By the way SSI  = really means Supplemental Security Income;  not the well known Social Security Retirement benefits that all of us knows about - yeah - I got that one confused too  awhile back; they are entirely two different programs.

😎

[PeterB456245]

Thanks for the info!