I never heard of this Social Security "gaming" before....I wonder who is doing it?

[Peregrine Took]

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/cut-spousal-benefits-to-stop-social-security-gaming-2015-06-19

[PoliticAverse]

1. People who can afford tax advisors than could explain strategies like that?

For a recent extensive article on the "file and suspend" strategy (which is being curtailed in
the current budget agreement) see...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=post&forum=1183&pid=1853

Note that the "file and suspend" issue came about after a year 2000 change in Social Security
to reduce penalties on people who were eligible for Social Security yet still wanted to work.

[mopinko]

2. i plan to do this.

in the midst of a divorce. 61 yo. i have barely worked myself, and my own benefits will only be a few hundred dollars.
i could claim his bennies, which are the max. but i am going to claim mine at 62, when i will still have maintenance. he will still be working by the time i hit 65. he will still be paying in the max each year he works. but he is thinking of retiring himself at about that time. he is only 55.
when he retires, it will cut my maintenance, so i will switch to spousal bennies at that time.

dont agree w this analyst about getting rid of spousal benefits to fix the problem, but i would have had no problems paying a small extra tax, or having a higher cap to insure my retirement.
lots of caregivers would be totally screwed by just getting rid of it. the true progressives are considering expanding them, giving work credits to care givers.

[SheilaT]

5. You might want to double check your plan.

If he is only 55 right now, you have seven years until he is 62, and he must be at least that old for you to collect from his benefits. . If you are at least 66 at that point, you will collect half of what his benefit would be when he turns 66. At age 62, as you know, you can claim your own SS, but it will adversely impact forever what you can get. You also need to have been married at least ten years and divorced for two to be able to claim the divorced spouse benefit.

I don't know what your personal situation is, but you may want to work until you are 66 or so. I was very much in your situation when my marriage came to an end. I turned 60 when the divorce became final. I'd been out of the workforce for a good 25 years raising children, although I'd worked and paid into SS for more than ten years before getting married. I moved to another part of the country and found work. Earlier this year, my ex turned 62. I filed for the spousal benefit, because that was absolutely the earliest I could. In three more years when I turn 70, I will then switch to my own, which will be about $600 more per month. If he predeceases me, I can then switch back to his SS as a widow, and will get at least $400 more on that account.

Get your hands on a copy of Get What's Yours by Laurence Kotlikoff, Paul Solman, and Philip Moeller. They lay out every possible scenario for collecting SS there is, including advice on what they believe is the best strategy.

[mopinko]

7. i have a small farm. that is enough for me to do.

i will have adequate maintenance and assets. i am not worried about money. will be getting a nice 401k and some rental property.
one reason i never went back to "work" is that my health is pretty so-so. no way i could hold down a job-job, assuming i could even find one.
we were married 30 years, and will be divorced in a couple weeks, so i will have no real troubles once he is 62. i didnt know he had to be eligible, tho. that kinda blows.

[SheilaT]

8. Unfortunately, you need to be very aware of age things.

He needs to be age 62, you need to have been divorced at least two years. Yes, it does kinda blow, but the more you know the better prepared you are.

[mopinko]

10. i was really distressed that my divorce lawyer

didnt know squat about this. she thought i could get medicare at 62.
i thought i knew the rules. glad you gave me that bit of info.

[SheilaT]

11. Someone who thinks you can get Medicare at age 62

is scarily ignorant.

The rules about collecting SS are sufficiently complicated to confuse a lot of people, especially the ones about taking a spousal benefit. But Medicare?

It's mind-boggling how many people take SS early. While many people really do need the money, it's hard to believe that half of all men and women are so hard up that they must take it by age 63.

The other thing most people don't understand is what is actually meant by Full Retirement Age. A lot of people seem to think it's the age at which you max out your benefits. It's not. It's the age at which you can start collecting and not have your SS dinged if you earn too much money. Which is completely unrelated to whether you might end up paying income tax on your SS, which is dependent on how much income you have in a year.

To everyone who reads this thread, find out from SS exactly what you are eligible for at what age, and try to get your hands on the book Get What's Yours

[Hoyt]

3. I don't like the file and suspend scheme. Although it won't help me, I would keep spousal benefit,

Especially for people married a long time.

[SheilaT]

4. It's not gaming, and you really don't need an expensive advisor

to tell you about these things, you just need to do a little research. In fact, my financial guy didn't even know about the divorced spouse thing, which is what I am now doing. I stayed out of the workforce for a very long time while raising children, and the divorced spouse benefit is greatly appreciated.

There's an excellent book which just came out this year, Get What's Yours by Laurence Kotlikoff, Paul Solman, and Philip Moeller. I did not fully understand what I could claim as a divorced spouse until I saw this book. I have no idea if they'll update it if they change the law. It's not clear if the proposed changes would also affect divorced spouses, but I'm very fortunate in that I'll be grandfathered in, if they do change that part.

[Bluenorthwest]

6. But the change is not to the spousal or divorced spousal benefit but to the 'file and suspend'

filing strategy which has been available for the last 15 years. Did you use file and suspend?

[SheilaT]

9. Nope. The file and suspend thing only matters to couples currently married.

I'm a divorced spouse, so what mattered here was that he be at least 62, I be at least 66, we have been married at least ten years and divorced at least two. In my case, bingo! In August I started collecting SS. Once I turn 70, in August of 2018, I'll collect my own SS, which will be about $600 more than the spousal benefit. If he dies, I'll be his widow, and my SS payment will rise by about $400.