One item in the proposed budget bill now being masticated by Congress is to eliminate a benefit, erroneously called a loophole, that can be a big help to many women. We know how men both work more years, in many cases, and for higher pay, in most cases, than their wife. The reasons are many, but that's the way it has been and is getting better too slowly. The lower pay and fewer credits results in a lower Social Security check for women. More after the mating orange tapeworms.
One technique many couples are able to use is for the higher earner to file and suspend the Social Security claim at the Full Retirement Age (FRA). The lower earning spouse can then, at her FRA file for the spousal benefit, half the husband's FRA benefit, and collect that money until she can file for her own higher benefit at a later age.
Say both spouses are age 66, the present FRA. Hubby files and suspends his Social Security claim. Wife files for her spousal benefit, half what hubby would get if he hadn't suspended. The Social Security benefit that is not claimed increases 8% per year until age 70. At age 70 both claim their own benefit and get the maximum the system can offer. Hubby dies before she does, as usual, and she now gets his highest-possible benefit check monthly for the rest of her life. This high benefit is also the base she gets for any cost of living increases.
The new plan removes the possibility of filing and suspending. It also "deems" that when she files, she has filed for her final benefit. There is no way to get a higher benefit at a later age except COLAs, if any.
Here's more from Bloomberg:
http://www.bloomberg.com/...
"Wait until 70 and you lock in your maximum benefit. The monthly check for a single person who files at age 70 can be 76 percent higher than if she had filed early at 62.
"Under file and suspend, married workers can file for Social Security and immediately suspend their benefits. Their benefit checks won't start arriving in the mail, and the value of their eventual benefits will keep rising as if they hadn't filed. In the meantime, their husbands or wives can apply for a portion of the spousal benefit they are entitled to once their spouse has filed.
"If passed in its present form, the bill would end file and suspend for future retirees. It would make it impossible for people to access their spousal benefits while their spouses are still waiting to access theirs. It also affects children of Social Security beneficiaries, who have their own version of file and suspend. Social Security sends a monthly check to children of beneficiaries when the children either are under 18 or are adults who were disabled when they were young. These children wouldn't get their checks until their parents start getting theirs."
Email or telephone your Representative and your Senator. If you're a member of AARP or other senior organization, contact them. Tell them to keep this Social Security cut out of the budget bill. It hurts women. It hurts couples who have planned on using this in the near future. It hurts children of older parents.