You’ve likely been caught in the quandary of when you
should begin taking Social Security benefits. It’s a tough decision. Taking
them now can mean extra money hitting your bank account each month. On the
other hand, each year you delay can give you an 8% bigger check from Uncle Sam for
the rest of your life.
What should you do?
Well, if you are married, there is a way to get both:
Checks right now and bigger ones in the future ...
The Social Security Administration will let you
claim spousal benefits without forcing you to claim your own benefits. In other
words, you are "free" to take a spousal benefit while letting your
own retirement benefit continue to grow. You will receive a full spousal
benefit equal to 50% of his or her retirement benefit. Then you can switch over
to your own retirement benefit at a later age
However, you must
be full retirement age (66 for most Boomers) for this strategy to work. Because
if you are under full retirement age when you take a spousal benefit, it’ll be based
on your record … not your spouse’s. Therefore, you will be stuck with a
permanently lower benefit as a result of taking it prior to your full
retirement age.
For more information, here is a link to the Social Security’s
Retirement Planner.
Best wishes,
George
P.S. I’m on Twitter. Follow me at http://twitter.com/efinancialwrite
for frequent updates, personal insights and
observations on how to have a healthy retirement.
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