I have your book and I read the info on spousal benefits but I am still confused. I am 68. I have not taken SS yet. I retired Dec 2017. If I took benefits now, it would be $2883. If I wait till 70 it will be $3514. My husband is 71. He took SS early and gets $1169. We never applied for spousal benefits. I get the impression that we should. Looking at your example, I think if I took it now, he would get an additional $272 but if I wait till 70, he would get an additional $588. Can that be right? Thanks for your help.

Hi,

It sounds like you should have filed for and started drawing spousal benefits when you reached age 66. Unfortunately, you can only claim benefits retroactively for up to 6 months, so the benefits that you could have been receiving before then are likely lost to you. From your description, though, it sounds clear that you should file for spousal benefits only ASAP and request the full 6 months of retroactivity. You can then switch to your own record at age 70 with no penalty. You may still want to use the maximization software available on this website, though, just to make sure that's your optimal strategy.

Unreduced spousal benefits are paid at a rate of 50% of your spouse's full retirement age rate (PIA), so if your husband started drawing reduced benefits before his full retirement age (FRA) then your spousal rate will likely be more than 50% of what he is currently receiving. One thing for certain, though, there would be no advantage to waiting to file for your spousal benefits. Spousal benefits do not increase if you wait past FRA to start drawing them.

Best, Jerry