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I am now 80 and my wife is 76, and we both took early Social Security benefits at age 62. When my wife took her Social Security, it was a lot smaller than mine, so they took a portion of mine and added it to hers. How does that work? Also, when I die, will my wife get all of mine or just a percentage? Signed: Curious Senior Dear Curious: Social Security’s standard process is to pay a beneficiary’s personally earned retirement benefit first, and then add an additional amount as necessary to bring the payment up to what they are entitled to as a spouse, or as a surviving spouse. So, in your wife’s case, she is now (while you are both living) receiving her own earned Social Security benefit plus a “spousal boost” to make her payment equal what she’s due as your spouse. Your wife’s spousal boost was not taken from your benefit payment – you still get your own retirement benefit – but her spousal boost amount was computed by comparing the amount she was entitled to at her full retirement age (FRA) to 50% of your FRA benefit amount and then reducing her spousal boost amount because she claimed at age 62 (all Social Security benefits, except disability benefits, taken before FRA are reduced).
Read moreDo you make a difference in the world? Does anyone care about what you do? Are some people more important than others? We all ask ourselves these questions from time to time. Some people wonder about them more than others.
Read moreThere is an old saying about never meeting your heroes for fear of being let down. I am sure there are many examples in which people can point to which would demonstrate this.
Read moreDEAR ABBY: My partner and I have just suffered a miscarriage. It was our first pregnancy, and even though it wasn’t planned, it was very much wanted. Now that I have recovered from the miscarriage and passed my medical clearances, I have noticed a significant increase in arguments. I know it’s happening because we are both still grieving. However, it almost feels like he is trying to push me away.
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DEAR ABBY: My fatherin- law, who lives out of state, regularly makes crude jokes and comments about his sex life or my sex life in my presence and in the presence of my wife, his wife and others. He once commented to me that he would be excited to see his daughter, my wife, in bed with a woman.
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DEAR ABBY: My niece, “Amanda,” is 19 and fairly close with my daughter “Hayley,” who is 18. Since graduating from high school and through her first year away at college, Amanda has been going out of town to meet men she meets online. Amanda shares her location with Hayley through Snapchat “in case something happens.” My niece is doing this without letting anyone (other than Hayley) know and often uses my daughter as a cover to her parents.
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DEAR ABBY: My spouse and I work at the college where we were undergraduates. The school has a strong reunion tradition, and thousands of alumni come with their families to relive their college days. We live here year-round and are sort of done with reminiscing.
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As I watch weather reports about southern Florida, where my son, Clay, currently lives, I’m reading a book that strengthens my faith to not give up hope. The book, Tim Tebow’s MISSION POSSIBLE, (Go Create a Life That Counts), is just plain awesome. This is Part 1 of 2 parts, because I want to set up for you what kind of career he had before he began new ventures that is unbelievable for a rich, famous, almost super-human athlete.
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