There's a reason so many seniors grapple with their Social Security filing decision. Although your lifetime earnings determine what monthly benefit you get, your filing age also plays a role in finalizing that number.
At full retirement age, which is 67 for anyone born in 1960 or later, you're entitled to your complete monthly Social Security benefit without a reduction. Filing early, which you can do starting at age 62, will reduce your monthly benefits, while delaying your claim past full retirement age will grow your benefits up until the age of 70.
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If your health is poor, you may be leaning toward an early Social Security claim. Even though that'll result in smaller monthly benefits, if you don't expect to live a long life, it could lead to a larger lifetime benefit.
But while the numbers may work out well for you in that scenario, there's another piece of the puzzle you may be overlooking.
Don't forget about your spouse
If you're single, you clearly don't have to worry about how your Social Security claim will affect a spouse's income. But if you're married with a spouse who's likely to outlive you, and you were the higher earner in the household, then you should think about how your actions might affect your partner's survivor benefits.
Once you pass away, your surviving spouse will be eligible for a monthly benefit equal to 100% of the amount you collected while you were alive. If you slash that monthly benefit by claiming Social Security early, you could end up leaving your spouse with a lot less money to live on once you're no longer around.
Now in some cases, this may not be an issue. If your spouse was the higher earner, it may be that the Social Security benefit your spouse entitled to each month is larger than what the survivor benefit would be.
In situations like these, Social Security pays the higher benefit of the two. So if the largest monthly benefit you can get from Social Security is $2,500 a month at age 70, but your spouse can collect $3,000 a month in Social Security at full retirement age, then you may not be hurting your spouse by filing early yourself.
Otherwise, it's important to run the numbers and figure out if your spouse can live on a reduced Social Security benefit. If not, you may want to avoid filing early -- even if your health is poor and you don't expect to collect benefits for so many years.
It's a discussion to have together
If you're married, any big financial decision is one you should plan to discuss with your spouse. So if you're trying to figure out when to claim Social Security, talk to your spouse about it. You may be able to come up with a strategy together that works best for both of you.
