I have purchased your book and software but I am still not confident on the following on whether it is possible and/or beneficial for us to do. I will be 67 at the end of this month and my wife will be 62 at end of july. my plan is to not file on my social security until age 70. we are both working and our plan is for us both to retire sometime in 2021. your software shows that my annual amount at age 70 is estimated at $42,410 and my wife filing on my social security at her age 66 1/2 would be $14,359. my question is can she file at age 62 and suspend and allow me to file on hers and I receive 50% of her social security until I reach age 70 and then file on mine? if I could do so it would be estimated around $5500 per year for me. would we be giving up any funds down the road by doing this? thank you.

Hi,

No. Your wife would actually have to file for and start drawing her own benefits in order for you to be able to receive spousal benefits. No one is allowed to voluntarily suspend their benefits prior to full retirement age (FRA). And, if they voluntarily suspend their benefits at or after FRA anytime after April 29 2016, auxiliary benefits (e.g. spousal, child) can't be paid from their record while their benefits are suspended.

If your wife did file for her benefits at age 62 and you file for spousal benefits, both her benefits and your spousal benefits could be subject to full or partial withholding depending on how much she earns (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html). Furthermore, if your wife collects any reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to FRA her benefit rate would be reduced for age accordingly, and that reduction would continue even if she later qualifies for additional spousal benefits from your account. However, filing for her own benefits before FRA wouldn't adversely affect your wife's survivor rate if you die before her.

I should explain that I answer the questions submitted to this forum, but I don't have access to our software customers' data. Therefore, I can't tell you specifically how much in benefits you and your wife might be able to draw if she did file at age 62, nor exactly how much of a benefit reduction would result. You may want to resubmit your question using an online contact form from the help menu so that your question can be answered by one of our experts with full access to your data.

Best, Jerry