Question about Social Security in a year when Congress might raise the FRA

[Anonymous]

My husband will turn 70 next summer and has planned to wait until then to take Social Security to max out payments. We're both still working, and are in the highest income bracket, so we'd be paying a lot of taxes on SS if we filed today.

It seems that if Congress is going to raise the FRA, then they'll also raise the age for the maximum payout, right? If they do that this year, then we'll regret having waited to start DH's social security.

Do you think we should start payments now to avoid the risk?

Also, is his payment amount going up monthly? For example, if legislation starts moving suddenly to raise the FRA, could we go ahead and file in, say November, and get more than we'd get by filing today?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

It's meant to be actuarially neutral to take SS later.

No one can answer your questions, but I agree with your general logic.

If I were your husband, I would hedge my bets and file for SS now. It won't lower his payments much and he might as well.

In terms of the tax implications, I think you should talk to an accountant who specializes in retirement to choose strategic ways to minimze your tax burden.

[Anonymous]

I know there's no way for you to verify this, but I'm actually an expert on this.

First, the chance of ANY changes in the next couple of years are tiny.

Second, if there are changes, they will almost certainly apply to people who are younger, like 50 or 60, if not younger, to give people an opportunity to adjust.

Third, in the highly, highly unlikely case that he is affected, any changes will be based on birth year, not filing year, so you won't be able to "beat the change" by filing early.

Fourth, if they do raise the FRA, I don't know if they will change the age at which delayed retirement credits end, which is currently age 70.

Note that you can apply for benefits up to 4 months before they start (https://www.ssa.gov/help/iClaim_startBenefits.html) so you may want to file a few months early. On the other hand, you can file to start benefits for up to 6 months BEFORE you file (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/delayret.html), so if you are a few months late, it doesn't matter: you'll just get retroactive payments for the previous few months.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks very much for the quick responses and advice!