ArcaMax

My wife and I were eating in a local restaurant the other day. In the booth right behind me (within easy earshot) were two women whom I would guess were in their mid to late 60s. They were talking about Social Security -- their own benefits and possible benefits due from their husbands -- and half the stuff they said was wrong.

I really wanted to get up and step over to their booth and say, "Excuse me, ladies, but I'm somewhat of a Social Security expert. I write a weekly column about Social Security and I've written a couple books on the subject. Could I answer a couple questions for you?" But then I thought that by looming over their booth, they'd think I'm some kind of creep and might call the manager and get me kicked out of the place -- leaving my wife all alone with a plateful of cold spaghetti on my side of the table.

So I kept my mouth shut and just listened, cringing the whole time about the misinformation they were sharing. In fact, one of the ladies finally said, "I may be wrong about all this. But that's because Social Security is just so darn complicated."

And that got me thinking to myself: You know, Social Security really isn't all that complicated -- at least for the vast majority of us. It can get messy if you have an odd situation. Like maybe you've been married five times or maybe you're trying to get disability benefits while running a small business on the side.

But again, most of us have lived fairly straightforward lives and our dealings with Social Security are going to be fairly straightforward, too. So I'm going to present three people whom I think represent the vast majority of my readers and show you how simple Social Security can actually be.

Let's meet Fred. He is just turning 63. He's worked all his life and plans to retire on his 63rd birthday. Let's also meet his wife, Wilma. She is 63, too. She retired several years ago. She's worked about 30 years total, having taken time off for about 10 years to raise their three children, all of whom are now grown and living on their own. And just to stir the pot a little bit, let's also introduce Betty. She was Fred's first wife, to whom he was married for 12 years. She is 62. She remarried following her divorce from Fred, but that second marriage lasted only five years. She's been single ever since her divorce from husband number two. Betty has worked all her life and is also thinking of retiring. So now let's go over their Social Security options.

Fred's is the easiest. He simply has to decide when he wants to start his Social Security. And there is no magic formula or hidden secrets to his decision. It simply comes down to this. Does he want reduced benefits for a longer period of time? (His monthly benefits would be reduced by about one-half of one percent for each month they are taken before age 67 -- his full retirement age.) If yes, then he should file now.

Or does he want higher benefits for a shorter period of time? If yes, then he might want to wait until 67 and get his full retirement rate. Or he could wait until 70 and get about a 28% delayed retirement bonus added to his monthly benefits.

As I said, there is no secret formula to his decision. He simply has to "run the numbers" for each scenario, consider his own prospects for longevity and then decide which way to go.

I can tell Fred this. His decision is still essentially a crapshoot. Here is what I mean. I've been working with Social Security for over 50 years. In that time, I've met thousands of guys who took benefits at 62, but then lived well into their late 80s or 90s. So maybe they should have waited longer to start their benefits? On the other hand, I've also met thousands of widows of guys who waited until 70 to start their benefits and then dropped dead at the age of 71. So maybe they should have started benefits sooner?

The point I'm making is that because you just don't know how long you are going to live, you also just never really know the best time to start your Social Security. So as I said, all Fred can do is run the numbers and make a decision about when to start his Social Security that he is comfortable with.

One extra thing Fred might want to consider is this. If one of his goals is to make sure that Wilma gets the highest possible widow's benefit after he dies, then he might want to wait until 70 to get that 28% bonus, because Wilma will get that same bonus in her widow's benefits.

And speaking of Wilma, let's look at her options. But first, let's clear up a common misconception. (And it was one of the falsehoods spread by the ladies sitting next to me at the restaurant.) Wilma CANNOT start by taking spousal benefits on Fred's record with plans to switch to her own benefits at 67 or 70. A widow can do that, but not a spouse with a living husband.

And because Wilma worked a decent amount of time, I am sure her own Social Security benefit will be higher than the roughly 35% rate she'd be due in spousal benefits on Fred's record. So, like Fred, Wilma just has to "run the numbers" on her own account and decide when she wants her retirement benefits to start. One thing she should know is that if she takes reduced benefits on her own record, that reduction does NOT carry over to any widow's benefits she'd be due later on. Her widow's rate will be based on her age when Fred dies. Assuming she is over 67 when that happens, her own benefit will be supplemented up to 100% of what Fred was getting at the time of death.

Finally, we come to Fred's first wife, Betty. Assuming she doesn't remarry a second time, Betty is essentially due the same benefits as Wilma. They do not offset each other. In other words, any benefits Betty gets do not reduce what Wilma is due -- and vice versa. Also, any benefits due his wife and ex-wife do not reduce Fred's own Social Security benefit. So Betty must do the same thing as Wilma: simply decide when she wants her own benefits to start, knowing that someday she will get higher divorced widow's benefits on Fred's account.

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If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has two books with all the answers. One is called "Social Security -- Simple and Smart: 10 Easy-to-Understand Fact Sheets That Will Answer All Your Questions About Social Security." The other is "Social Security: 100 Myths and 100 Facts." You can find the books at Amazon.com or other book outlets. Or you can send him an email at thomas.margenau@comcast.net. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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