This is the latest in a series of articles featuring Social Security claiming case studies drawn from the ALM publication "2025 Social Security & Medicare Facts," by Michael Thomas with support from Jim Blair, a former Social Security administrator, and Marc Kiner, a planning expert with extensive experience in public accounting.
Adam and Anna are a married couple almost 11 years apart in age. In addition to becoming eligible for their own benefits at significantly different times, the age difference also results in their respective full retirement ages differing by several months.
Adam, born in March 1959, reaches his FRA at 66 years and 10 months. At that time, his benefit is $2,023, and his expected death age is just over 84.
Anna, born in November 1969, reaches her full retirement age at 67. Her FRA benefit is $2,198, and her expected death age is just over 87. Anna is expected to survive her husband by about 12 years.
The couple have as many as nine potentially viable claiming options, with the projected total lifetime benefit difference between the “best” and “worst” claiming strategy topping $110,000.
What the Numbers Say
The least effective strategy to maximize benefits would have seen Adam file at age 65 for a reduced worker's benefit of $1,910 in January 2025. Anna would file at 62, in November 2031, for her own reduced worker's benefit of $1,557 before switching to the larger survivor's benefit upon Adam’s death. This results in a projected lifetime benefit for the couple of $961,765.
A small boost in projected benefits comes from assuming that Anna waits until November 2036 to file for her FRA benefit of $2,198, while Adam uses the same claiming strategy. This results in a benefit projection of $976,764.
An improvement of about $4,000 in lifetime benefits comes from assuming that Adam waited until November 2025 to file for his FRA worker benefit of $2,023, while Anna files as early as she can before eventually switching to a survivor benefit.
A more meaningful benefit boost comes from assuming that Adam filed in November 2025 for his full FRA benefit, and Anna files at age 70 in November 2039 for her maximum benefit of $2,725. This results in a projected lifetime benefit for the couple of about $1.011 million.
Other variations of this strategy see the benefit projection grow by up to several thousands of dollars by either keeping Adam’s decision to claim at FRA age or having him wait until age 70, when his maximum benefit of $2,535 is available. At the same time, Anna can claim at her FRA or earlier and receive benefits for longer while later receiving a higher spousal benefit.
For example, the second-best strategy would see Adam file in March 2029 at age 70 for his maximum benefit ($2,535) while Anna files at her FRA benefit age before later switching to the survivor benefit. This results in a total projected lifetime benefit of $1.042 million.
The best strategy, however, sees Anna file earlier. That is, while Adam files in March 2029 for his maximum benefit, Anna files at age 62 for a reduced benefit before later switching to the maximum survivor benefit of $2,535. This mixed strategy delivers a projected lifetime benefit of $1.071 million.
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