I read two articles in the last year from Kiplingers Magazine about filing for Social Security spousal benefits and then changing to you own benefits at full retirement. Here is part of their article:Claiming spousal benefits. Many two-career couples assume they will claim Social Security based on their individual work records. They tend to dismiss spousal benefits (worth 50% of the worker's benefits) as a throwback to the good old days of Leave It to Beaver. But several readers of the July story -- among them Tom West of Minneapolis -- were astonished to learn that if they applied for benefits at their normal retirement age (which is 66 for anyone born between 1943 and 1954), they could restrict their application to spousal benefits and delay collecting on their own record until later, when their benefits would be worth more. Depending on your birth year, your retirement benefit increases by 7% to 8% for every year you delay collecting, until age 70. -- In my wife's case she would collect $1264 less per year by taking 1/2 of my benefits. When she reaches full retirement age in 4 more years her own full benefit would be $5,564 more then she gets by taking 1/2 of mine. In other words she would earn back the 4 years of lost money in the first year she changes to her own account. I know we cannot predict what the government might do but how much of a risk do you think it is that the SSA will eliminate this opportunity? Sounds like a no brainer to me she should take 1/2 of mine and then change to her own in 4 years. Thanks Jim Reynolds
