- Mark as New
- Bookmark
- Subscribe
- Subscribe to RSS Feed
- Permalink
- Report Inappropriate Content
Retirement tax questions
These questions depend on your personal financial situation, so you may want to visit with a Financial Planner, but to help get you organized to meet with them here are some items to review.
A spouse can choose to retire as early as age 62, but doing so may result in a benefit as little as 32.5 percent of the worker's primary insurance amount. A spousal benefit is reduced 25/36 of one percent for each month before normal retirement age, up to 36 months. If the number of months exceeds 36, then the benefit is further reduced 5/12 of one percent per month.
There is a great calculator, so depending on what the rest of your financial picture is, you can look at the results of each of the ages you posted in your thread to see the financial impact. If she starts drawing from Social Security before 64, there is a further reduction of 5/12 see above. The calculator is at:
https://www.ssa.gov/oact/quickcalc/spouse.html
She can retire and not draw social security till a later year. This is another option if your financial situation allows for that, but that would be a discussion with someone who can see your full financial situation.
If she continues to work while drawing social security there are some income limits which are detailed by Social Security, please ensure you get a copy for the current year. Here is the 2021 copy: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10069.pdf
For the survivor's benefits it will be depend on age what percentage will be received:
General brochure highlighting these benefits: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/
The amount that is received will depend if she has reached full retirement age. If she is at or above full retirement age then 100%, if less than full retirement age, but over 60 then it will range from 71.5% to 99%. Here is a good guide detailing this information: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/ifyou.html#h6
**Mark the post that answers your question by clicking on "Mark as Best Answer"