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My Two Cents

A Social Security twist

Chris Farrell Apr 28, 2009

Another twist on Social Security…

According to a recent brief by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College
“Strange But True: Claim Social Security Now, Claim More Later”:

1) One member of a two-earner couple can claim a Social Security spousal benefit at age 66 and then claim a higher retired worker benefit later.

2) The most likely person to use this strategy is the higher-earning spouse, who can receive benefits while working without losing the gains of claiming later.

3) If this strategy were widely adopted, it would cost Social Security about $10 billion per year.

You can read the full report here.

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