My husband's birthday is 12/11/53 and mine is 01/09/1954. Can we use file and suspend for me to claim spousal and my husband would then wait till 70 to file.

Hi,

No. You couldn't claim spousal benefits without also being deemed to apply for your own benefits at the same time, nor could you be paid spousal benefits at least until your husband starts drawing his own Social Security retirement benefits. That's because you were born after January 1 1954.

On the other hand, your husband could file just for spousal benefits while allowing his own benefit rate to grow until age 70, but he could only be paid spousal benefits if you're drawing your own benefits. He couldn't be paid spousal benefits if you file for and suspend your benefits (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/claiming.html?intcmp=AE-RET-PLRT-REL...).

Your best filing strategy depends in large part on your and your husband's relative benefit rates. You and your husband should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore all of your options in order to determine the best possible filing strategy to maximize your benefits.

Best, Jerry