Downsizing
– the journey
begins
Social Security column:
understanding spouses’ benefi ts
FROM: BRIAN RUDOLPH AND RHONDA
WHITENACK
Social Security public aff airs specialists
Minnesota and northern Wisconsin
Dale Kovar
HJ GENERAL MANAGER
My wife and I have reached the point of consider-
ing downsizing.
The government says our “full retirement age” is
still several years away – something to pay attention
to, but not close enough to get excited about.
There are all the statistics about how much money
people will need for retirement. Only the most wealthy
can say with any certainty that they are set.
For the rest of us, it’s a blind target because WE
DON’T KNOW HOW LONG IT’S GOING TO BE!
If we knew for sure that we only had two more
years, then we’d punch out tomorrow and go travel
the country, seeing places we’ve heard of but never
made it to.
On the other hand, it’s possible we’re only two-
thirds of the way through this earthly journey, in
which case it’s more likely you fellow taxpayers will
be needed to help pay for whatever facility becomes
our fi nal landing spot.
In the meantime, downsizing is on our minds.
Maybe you’ve been through it already, are in the
process, or similarly have thought that it might be a
good idea.
Like my other writings for Senior Connections, I
claim no professional capacity to advise – just some
observations from experience.
We believe we can exist with less, so the goal is to
potentially fi nd a new (different) home that makes our
lives cheaper and easier.
Less space, less work, less cost.
I have conceded there will be no perfect answer. To
have all the specifi c features that fi t our tastes would
drive the price out of bounds. There will be compro-
mises.
We have the usual considerations. We don’t want
to have to ever paint again. Small lawn to mow. Short
driveway to shovel. For longer term, fewer steps are
better.
Then there’s the question of where. Which towns
would we be most comfortable in? Not too big, not
too small, where we already know others, close to our
current patterns.
Match all that up with prices and it becomes quite
a puzzle. There are many attractive options, but we
bring that back to the cheaper/easier test vs. what we
have now.
Fortunately, we have no gun at our heads to make a
hasty move, so even if it takes a couple years or more
to fi nd the last place we want to call home, so be it.
As I said, I offer no magic solutions – just another
traveler along life’s path.
which the deceased spouse would have been entitled
if they had lived, or
• 82.5 percent of the unreduced deceased spouse’s
monthly benefi t if they had started receiving benefi ts
at their full retirement age (rather than choosing to
receive a reduced retirement benefi t early).
Knowing how your fi nances affect your spouse’s
can help both of you avoid future impacts on your
incomes. When it comes to information, we have over
80 years of experience. Access a wealth of useful
information as well as our benefi ts planners at www.
socialsecurity.gov/planners.
Marriage is a cultural institution that exists all
over the world. Having a partner means sharing
many things including a home and other property.
Understanding how your future retirement might
affect your spouse is important. When you’re planning
for your fun and vibrant golden years, here are a few
things to remember:
If a spouse accepts reduced retirement benefi ts
before starting spouse’s benefi ts
(his or her spouse is younger), the
spouse will not receive 50 percent
of the worker’s benefi t amount.
Your full spouse’s benefi t could
be up to 50 percent of your spouse’s
full retirement age amount if you
are full retirement age when you
take it. If you qualify for your own
retirement benefi t and a spouse’s
benefi t, we always pay your own
benefi t fi rst. (For example, you are
eligible for $400 from your own
retirement and $150 as a spouse for
a total of $550.) The reduction rates
for retirement and spouses benefi ts
are different. If your spouse is
younger, you cannot receive benefi ts
unless he or she is receiving benefi ts
(except for divorced spouses). If A spouse’s fi nances can aff ect future income.
you took your reduced retirement
fi rst while waiting for your spouse
to reach retirement age, when you add
spouse’s benefi ts later, your own retirement
portion remains reduced which causes the
total retirement and spouses benefi t together
to total less than 50 percent of the worker’s
amount. You can fi nd out more on at www.
socialsecurity.gov/OACT/quickcalc/spouse.
html.
On the other hand, if your spouse’s retirement
benefi t is higher than your retirement benefi t,
and he or she chooses to take reduced benefi ts
and dies fi rst, your survivor benefi t will be
reduced, but may be higher than what your
spouse received.
If the deceased worker started receiving
reduced retirement benefi ts before their
full retirement age, a special rule called the
retirement insurance benefi t limit may apply to
the surviving spouse. The retirement insurance
benefi t limit is the maximum survivor benefi t
you may receive. Generally, the limit is the
higher of:
• The reduced monthly retirement benefi t to
Senior Connections HJ.COM
Senior
Connections November 2018
SUBMITTED PHOTO
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