Hi Larry, my wife is 62, I am 60. I plan to file for my retirement benefit at 70. My wife's estimated retirement benefit will be less than her estimated spousal benefit. Can she file for her retirement benefit, then switch later to her spousal benefit at 72 (the age she will be when I file). If yes, is her spousal benefit affected by the age when she files for her retirement benefit. Would she be better off filing now at 62 or waiting until her FRA?

Hi,

Your wife can't switch from her own record to drawing spousal benefits, but she could potentially receive additional spousal benefits when you file. Her spousal benefit rate wouldn't necessarily be affected by when she starts drawing her own retirement benefits, but she would keep any reduction that she takes to start drawing her own benefits early.

For example, Millie has a full retirement age rate (PIA) of $800, but starts drawing at 62 and receives a reduced rate of $600. Millie's husband Bob starts drawing his benefits when Millie is full retirement age, and his PIA is $2000. Millie's spousal rate would be calculated starting with 50% of Bob's PIA, and then subtracting Millie's own PIA. In Millie's case, this results in a spousal rate of $200 (i.e. $2000/2 - $800). This $200 excess spousal benefit would then be added to Millie's own reduced rate of $600, giving her a combined benefit of $800.

In the example above, Millie excess spousal benefit is unreduced because her husband didn't file until she was full retirement age (FRA). However, if Millie was born after January 1 1954 and her husband filed before she reached FRA she would be forced to start drawing her spousal benefits early, and they would also then be reduced for age.

You and your wife may want to strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website to explore all of your options and determine your best overall filing strategy.

Best, Jerry