I am 67,my wife 63.Neither of us is currently collecting SS benefits.My PIA@FRA is about 2500.My wife about 850.She earns about 18200 per year,I earn about 80000.
Is it feasible for her to collect RETIREMENT BENEFITS at reduced rate NOW,and for me to now file and restrict(I was born before 1954). I would collect spousal benefits until 70.
At 70 I start collecting my OWN RETIREMENT BENEFITS,and wife switches to spousal benefits which are more than her retirement benefits.

Hi,

Yes, your wife could apply for her Social Security retirement benefits now, and since you were born prior to January 2 1954, you could then file a restricted application for spousal benefits only. You could then switch to drawing your own Social Security retirement benefits at age 70, at which time you wife could file for an excess spousal benefit.

However, any resulting reduction in your wife's own benefit rate would continue for as long as both of you are living, even if and when she later qualifies for spousal benefits. And, if your wife earns more than $17,640 this year and/or more than $18,240 next year, both her benefits and your spousal benefits could be subject to at least partial withholding based on Social Security's earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html).

For example, say Jane files for her Social Security benefits this year at age 63. Jane's primary insurance amount (PIA), which is equal to the amount of her Social Security retirement benefit rate if she filed at full retirement age (FRA), is $850, but since Jane is filing at age 63 her rate is reduced for age to $623. When Jane reaches FRA her husband files for his Social Security retirement benefits with a PIA of $2500. Jane's spousal benefit rate would be calculated by subtracting her PIA from 50% of her husband's PIA, which in this example is $400 (i.e. $2500/2 - $850). That amount would then be added to Jane's own reduced benefit to give her a combined rate of $1,023.

It sounds like the filing strategy outlined in your question may be your best plan, but you and your wife should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore all of your options so that you can be sure to choose the strategy that would be most likely to maximize your benefits.

Best, Jerry