Drawing social security

[dbanderson510]

My husband turns 66 1/2 in November and plans to start drawing his social security. I will be 63 1/2 in November and he says that I can get half of his while he is still alive.  Is this true? And what is the limit of income while drawing social security?

[JBedford]

Hi, @dbanderson510 , thanks for the question! 

Your first question is not a tax question, but a Social Security question, so it it out of our scope. But that being said, you may find this SSA article helpful. 

There is not a limit of income while drawing SS, as you can earn as much as you like. However, if your MAGI is more than $32,000 if Married Filing Jointly ($25,000 for all other filing statuses), then at least some of your Social Security income may be taxable. Your MAGI is defined as half of your Social Security benefits, plus 100% of your other income. This TurboTax article goes into more detail.

Hope this helps, please let me know if this raises additional questions!

[Opus 17]

If you start taking your SS benefit before your "full retirement age" and you continue to work, the money you earn in one year will reduce your SS benefit in the next year.   After full retirement, working will not reduce your SS benefit.

If you declare retirement to draw on your spouse's benefit instead of waiting for your own benefit, your benefit will be permanently reduced. (You start earlier but get less each month.)

If you plan to stop working, it might work for you to declare retirement on your spouse's benefit, and then switch to your own benefit when you reach full retirement age, but I don't think this works if you plan to keep working.

This kind of "pushing the boundaries" of the SS system really needs expert assistance, not advice on the internet.  You could hurt your benefit for the rest of your life if you make a mistake.