Going back to your original questions: 1) If you stop working now, your SS benefit will be based on your highest 35 years of earnings. With 33 years of work history, you'd add 2 years of zeros to your calculation. This will lower your benefit some, but probably not drastically. 2) You can create a my Social Security account and use the retirement calculator to see exactly how different scenarios would affect your benefit amount. 3) When you file for benefits, you'll automatically receive either your own retirement benefit OR the spousal benefit (up to 50% of your husband's PIA), whichever is higher. 4) If your husband passes away, you'd be eligible for survivor benefits equal to 100% of his benefit amount (including any delayed retirement credits if he waited past FRA to claim). You absolutely can receive benefits based on your own record if that amount is higher than the spousal benefit. Your work history counts!

I'm in a similar situation and wanted to share what I learned from meeting with a local SSA office representative (after multiple failed phone attempts!). One thing that might help with your decision: if you do decide to work part-time, even earning just $10,000-15,000 per year would be much better than complete zeros in your earnings record. Every little bit helps when they're calculating your benefit based on those highest 35 years. Also, I discovered that the SSA website has a really helpful publication called "When To Start Receiving Retirement Benefits" (Publication No. 05-10147) that walks through scenarios similar to yours. It includes examples of how spousal benefits work and calculations for different claiming strategies. The key takeaway that gave me peace of mind: having your own work record gives you options and protection. Even if the spousal benefit ends up being higher, your own earnings record serves as a safety net and ensures you have retirement benefits in your own right. Good luck with whatever you decide - sounds like you've gotten some great advice here!

Wait I'm confused. If he's still working at 78 doesn't that mean he delayed taking SS past his full retirement age? If so wouldn't he be getting more than if he took it at regular retirement age? And does THAT affect what you'd get as a survivor?

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I want to add one more important point for anyone reading - make sure to keep good records of all your Social Security correspondence and benefit statements. When dealing with survivor benefits, having documentation of both spouses' earnings histories and benefit amounts can make the process much smoother. Also, if you're uncomfortable navigating this alone, many senior centers offer free assistance with Social Security matters, and some have volunteers who are trained to help with these applications. The peace of mind knowing you understand your benefits is worth the effort to get informed now rather than trying to figure it out during an already difficult time.

My friend was in a similar situation with an overseas pension from Canada and SS made him fill out some special form about it. I think they had to do some calculation with the exchange rate or something. Might want to ask specifically about that.

I'm a newcomer here but wanted to share what I've learned from my own research on this topic. For your New Zealand KiwiSaver question (#3), you're right to ask about this specifically. The SSA does have special procedures for foreign pensions and retirement accounts. From what I understand, they typically want documentation showing the nature of the account (whether it's government-sponsored, employer-contributed, etc.) and may require you to provide statements or other proof of the account balance and withdrawal amounts. The key is that like domestic retirement accounts, distributions from KiwiSaver shouldn't count as "earned income" for Social Security earnings test purposes. However, there could be complexity around how the SSA views the employer contribution portion versus your own contributions, especially since KiwiSaver has that mandatory employer contribution component. I'd definitely recommend having documentation ready about the account structure when you speak with SSA directly. Also, don't forget to check if there are any tax treaty implications between the US and New Zealand for those distributions - that's separate from the SSA rules but still important for your overall planning.

This has been such a helpful discussion to follow! I'm actually dealing with a very similar situation - I'll be reaching FRA in November 2025 and have been wrestling with the same decision about when to start benefits while continuing to work. Reading through everyone's experiences and insights has really clarified things for me. The point about keeping detailed earnings records by month is especially valuable - I never would have thought about that documentation being so important for the SSA's calculations. It's also reassuring to hear from people like Butch who went through this exact scenario and came out fine on the other side. The tax implications that Dmitry brought up are definitely something I need to research more for my own situation too. Thanks to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences here!

This thread has been incredibly informative! As someone who's about to turn 62 and starting to think seriously about Social Security timing, I'm learning so much from everyone's real-world experiences. The distinction between earnings before and after FRA that several people explained is something I definitely didn't understand clearly before. I'm curious - for those of you who are continuing to work past FRA, have you found that your Social Security benefits get recalculated annually based on your ongoing earnings? I've heard that SSA automatically recalculates your benefit each year if your recent earnings are higher than what was used in your original calculation, but I'm not sure how that actually works in practice. It seems like that could potentially increase your monthly benefit amount even after you start collecting, which might be another factor to consider in the timing decision.

I appreciate everyone's insights! I'm going to talk to my financial advisor about adjusting my retirement plans just to be safe. Sounds like I should hope for the best but plan for that 20% reduction. Still frustrating that we've known about this problem for so long and nothing has been done to fix it.

As someone who's been following this issue closely, I want to add some perspective on the timing aspect. The 2033 date isn't set in stone - it fluctuates based on economic conditions, employment rates, and wage growth. During the pandemic, the projected depletion date actually moved up due to job losses, but it's since stabilized again. What's encouraging is that we're seeing more bipartisan discussion about solutions lately. Both parties recognize that Social Security is incredibly popular with voters, so there's political incentive to address this before it becomes a crisis. The closer we get to 2033, the more urgent the pressure becomes on lawmakers. For those planning retirement in the next 5-10 years, I'd suggest running scenarios with both full benefits and an 80% reduction to see how it affects your overall retirement income plan. Don't forget that Social Security was never meant to be anyone's sole source of retirement income - it's just one leg of the three-legged stool (along with employer-sponsored plans and personal savings).