Hello. My husband is 65 and plans to work until he is 66 next year. I am 18 months younger and no longer work. We plan for him to start taking his social security at 70. Because he has worked for 15 years more than I have, his benefit is higher than mine (but not by much since I made more than he did when I worked). I am considering whether I should wait until I am 70 or take benefits at 68 1/2 when he starts his. Can I receive spousal benefits for the months between the time he takes his at 70 and I reach 70? Thank-you

Hi,

No, since you were born after January 1 1954 you could never file for spousal benefits without also filing for your own Social Security retirement benefits at the same time. The result would be that you would only receive the higher of those two benefit rates, so the only way that you could potentially qualify for spousal benefits is if 50% of your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than your PIA. A person's PIA is equal to the amount of their Social Security retirement benefit if they start drawing at full retirement age (FRA).

You and your husband may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore and compare all of your various options so that you can determine the best way to maximize your benefits.

Best, Jerry