I am 60 years old. I have been married for 16 years with a separation for 2 years. He is 61. We have not yet gotten divorced. I want to retire at 65. Can I draw from his social security benefits at 65 and later switch to my own at full retirement age of 70?

Hi. Assuming that your husband is still living, then no. Only people who were born prior to January 2 1954 were allowed to file for spousal or divorced spousal benefits without being required to apply for their own Social Security retirement benefits at the same time (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/claiming.html).

If your husband dies, though, then you could potentially file for survivor benefits while allowing your own benefit rate to grow until age 70. You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry