Inbox Question | How Filing Early Impacts the Spousal Benefit
Big Picture Retirement®
Devin Carroll
4.7 • 545 Ratings
🗓️ 3 July 2025
⏱️ 3 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Today we answer a question from Ken, a recent retiree at 63, about how his Social Security claiming decision impacts his wife's future spousal benefit. We break down how spousal benefits are calculated, whether the FRA (Full Retirement Age) amount is frozen when you claim early, and how COLA (Cost of Living Adjustments) factor into the equation.
Although this show does not provide specific tax, legal, or financial advice, you can engage Devin or John through their individual firms.
📍Contact Devin's team at https://carrolladvisory.co/podcast1
📍Contact John's team at https://www.rossandshoalmire.com/
If you're thinking, "I love the Big Picture Retirement podcast!" please consider rating and reviewing this show! This helps us support more people -- just like you -- move toward a confident retirement. Just scroll down to the "ratings and reviews" section, tap to rate with five stars, and select "Write a Review." Then be sure to let us know what you loved most about the episode!
Also, if you haven't done so already, follow the podcast. We add new content every week, and if you're not following, you'll likely miss out. Follow now!
Don't miss the Big Picture Retirement Planning Cheat Sheet. We've distilled the essential brackets, thresholds, and rules of retirement into an easy-to-digest, three-page summary. https://www.carrolladvisory.com/pl/2148282517
Want to ask Devin or John your question? Just visit https://www.bigpictureretirement.com/ and click on the "Ask A Question" menu selection.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Big Picture Retirement Show. |
| 0:07.6 | Today, we're going to the inbox to answer questions sent in by you, our listeners. |
| 0:12.3 | Now, if you'd like to send us a question, just head over to big pictureretirement.com and click the Ask a Question tab in the top menu. |
| 0:18.9 | Oh, and just a quick reminder. |
| 0:19.9 | On this podcast, we provide |
| 0:22.0 | general information and not specific tax, legal, or financial advice. But if you're ever ready |
| 0:28.3 | to move from the broad education we provide here to personalized advice that's specific to you, |
| 0:34.7 | you can find links to our websites down in the description. Now let's jump in |
| 0:39.1 | to today's question. John, today's question comes from Ken. Ken gives us some compliments |
| 0:49.4 | on the podcast, and I'll have to read this one. I listen to three or four different podcasts on a |
| 0:53.4 | regular basis, and I have to say you're a voice of reason in a cacophony of chaotic chatter. Wow. Ken's a bit of a poet. He is. I like that. Now, he gets on to his question down here. He says, my wife is not planning to retire until she turned 65. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years, so she'll end up taking a spousal benefit. |
| 1:13.2 | I know that's based on my benefit at Forteatown. until she turned 65. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years, so she'll end up taking a spousal |
| 1:12.4 | benefit. I know that's based on my benefit at four-retirement age. Since I took my benefit, |
| 1:17.0 | is my full-retirement age frozen at the full-retirement age when I retired, or will the full-retirement |
| 1:23.6 | age basis for her spousal benefit increase over the next three years. And then he gives |
| 1:29.3 | an example. My four retirement age was $4,000 when I started taking my benefit at 63. So I receive |
| 1:36.7 | $3,000 or 75% of my FRA. Now he retired at 63. In three years, will her calculation be based on that $4,000 times 50% |
| 1:48.3 | and then reduced for her filing age? Or will that $4,000 grow by the COLA each year? Our very |
| 1:55.7 | simple answer to this, and the last part of what he said is the accurate spot. He said, will that $4,000 for |
| 2:03.9 | retirement age basis grow by the COLA each year? Yes, it will. So the spousal benefit is based on |
| 2:10.0 | the primary insurance amount, which is roughly the same as the full retirement age benefit. |
| 2:15.9 | And every year, in the background, that primary insurance |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Devin Carroll, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Devin Carroll and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.