…..and all the paperwork arrived in the mail this morning, explaining what we’ll each get, when we’ll get it, and the time period the first payment is for and also my new SS card. Amazingly I’m essentially getting it all on time, I only had my interview in December, so first payment would have been for January, and then they pay in arrears, so the payment was due in early February and I got it this week. Considering the experience others have had, and the pandemic, and Christmas and New Year holidays, I’m stunned it’s gone through so quickly. Also, the spousal is more than I thought it would be. I thought it would be 50% of my benefit, which I have taken early, but it’s 50% of my benefit at full retirement age. How SS comes up with these rules is a complete mystery! My advice to anyone approaching retirement age is to spend a few bucks on the book ‘Get What’s Yours’, run through a good benefits calculator, and don’t just assume the maximum payout will be to wait as long as possible to file. For us the strategy was for me to claim early with my husband taking only a spousal benefit and postponing his own claim until 70.