I was born 1/12/58 and retired from a high-paying job last year (with 31 years of SS eligibility); I am planning to wait till I turn 70 before I file for benefits. My wife was born 10/3/62 and stopped working years ago. For the past 5 years we have been running a successful B&B and now we are both doing this full time; we expect to continue for at least another 5 years. I expect my wife's spousal benefits off my earnings will be much higher than her own benefits. I was wondering:
1. Could my wife file for her own reduced benefits at age 62 and then switch to full spousal benefits at age 67 (in other words, would she still be eligible for 50% of my FRA and full survivor benefits or would those benefits be forever reduced because she filed for her own early)?
2. If her spousal benefits would not be reduced by the above, could I file for spousal benefits off her record at the same time (when I will already be at FRA) and then file for my own benefits at age 70?

Hi,

The answers are no and no. If your wife files for her retirement benefits at age 62 she'll be stuck with a reduced rate for as long as both of you are living.

For example, say Mary was born in 1962 and has a full retirement age rate (PIA) of $500, but she starts drawing at age 62 and receives a reduced rate of $350. Mary's husband later files for his benefits 21 months before Mary reaches her full retirement age of 67. Mary would then be forced to take her spousal benefits early because her retirement application is deemed to also be an application for spousal benefits. Mary's unreduced spousal benefit rate would be calculated by subtracting her PIA from 50% of her husband's PIA, and that difference would then be reduced for age based on Mary's age at the time she became eligible for the spousal benefits. So, if Mary's husband's PIA was $2000, Mary's unreduced spousal rate would be $500 (i.e. $2000/2 - $500), which would then be reduced for age to $427. That reduced spousal benefit would then be added to Mary's reduced retirement benefit to give her a combined benefit rate of $777 (i.e. $427 + $350).

And no, since you were born after January 1 1954 you could never file for spousal benefits without also filing for your own benefits at the same time (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/claiming.html?intcmp=AE-RET-PLRT-REL...).

You and your wife may want to strongly consider using our maximization software to compare your various filing options and determine your best overall claiming strategy.

Best, Jerry