Hello Larry, My wife was born on 1/28/1954 and started collecting benefits at age 65. I was born in July 1956 and retired this year but plan on waiting till my full retirement age to start benefits.
Can I get spousal benefits now ? It is very confusing and I have read about differences if you were born after 1/1/1954 but really don’t understand it. Thank you !!

Hi,

No, since you were born after January 2 1954 you could never apply for spousal benefits without being required to file for your own Social Security retirement benefits at the same time. You could then only be paid the higher of your own benefit rate or your spousal rate. Therefore, unless your wife's primary insurance amount (PIA), which is equal to the amount of a person's Social Security retirement benefit if they start drawing at full retirement age (FRA), is more than twice as much as your PIA, you won't be eligible for any spousal benefits.

You may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore and compare your options so that you can choose the best possible strategy for claiming your benefits.

Best, Jerry