Laurence Kotlikoff is a professor of economics at Boston University who has been answering questions and writing columns about Social Security each week for the past two years on PBS NEWSHOUR’s website. OpenRetirement has asked Professor Kotlikoff to post a Q&A each day from those columns. He has also developed software, called Maximize My Social Security, to help retirees secure the highest lifetime Social Security benefits. You can find the software here: www.maximizemysocialsecurity.com
Question: I am 61 and my wife is 58, and we have a 27-year-old son who is disabled. Right now, he gets Supplemental Security Income. Is there any way of taking my Social Security that would be advantageous to our son?
Answer: When you are 62, you can file for your reduced retirement benefit and permit your son to collect a child benefit based on your work record. That benefit will equal half of your full (not reduced) retirement benefit. (If you pass away, his child survivor benefit will be 75 percent of your full retirement benefit, by the way.)
When you reach full retirement age, you can suspend your retirement benefit and start it up again at age 70 at a roughly 32 percent larger level (above and beyond the adjustment for inflation). This start-stop-start strategy may or may not maximize your lifetime benefits. There is very sophisticated and inexpensive software that examines start-stop-start strategies to see if they are optimal.
Please be advised, though, that any Social Security benefits your son receives will reduce his SSI benefits roughly dollar for dollar. If his benefit amount from your account is high enough, the SSI may stop altogether.
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When it comes to personal finance, economics and our software care about one thing—your living standard. All questions in personal finance boil down to your living standard. Your decision about when and how to take Social Security can affect your living standard throughout your retirement.
I am a professor of economics and I’ve spent a good part of my academic career studying personal financial behavior. Here’s why my colleagues and I developed Maximize My Social Security. Deciding, on your own, which Social Security benefits to take and in which month to take them is incredibly difficult. Most households face millions of options. You can easily lose tens of thousands of dollars making the wrong choices.
My company’s software, Maximize My Social Security, can help you avoid costly mistakes and instead discover your maximized lifetime household benefits.
