Today’s Social Security column addresses questions about who will and who will not have the 2022 COLA applied to their benefit rates, what happens to divorced spousal benefits when an ex dies and whether SSA actually overpaid benefits.
Such COLA increases are added to your benefit rate regardless of whether or not you start receiving benefits at 62. Basically, Social Security retirement benefit rates are credited with all COLAs that occur after a person reaches 62. The first retirement benefit COLA that people born from January 2 1960 through January 1 1961 could receive is the one that will likely occur in January 2023. And, if WEP reduces your benefit rate then it would also reduce the spousal benefit rate payable to your wife.