I am 54 and on SSDI. My spouse is 64 and working. Can she get a spousal benefit from my SSDI, and can she do this while working? Her plan has been to file and suspend her benefits at age 66, to collect the max amount at 70. My understanding is that my SSDI will convert to retirement at 67. She will be on her max social security by then and we are blessed to have supplemental retirement investments to help support us. Could I suspend my social security after it converts from SSDI, to try to maximize my benefit? Please advise, thank you.

Hi,

Since your wife was apparently born after January 1 1954, she could never file just for spousal benefits without also being required to file for her own Social Security retirement benefits at the same time (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html). And, she could only qualify for spousal benefits if your full Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit rate, which is equal to your primary insurance amount (PIA), is more than twice as much as your wife's full retirement age rate (PIA).

If your wife files for benefits before reaching full retirement age (FRA), her benefit rate will be reduced for age whether she qualifies only for her own benefits or for a combined amount from her own record and from your record. And, her benefits could be subject to full or partial withholding until she reaches FRA if she earns more than the Social Security earnings test exempt amount (i.e. $17640 in 2019). Your wife may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to explore and compare her options so that she can choose the best possible strategy for claiming her benefits.

You're correct that your SSDI will automatically convert to regular Social Security retirement benefits when you reach your FRA of 67. You could then choose to voluntarily suspend your retirement benefits in order to accrue delayed retirement credits (DRC), which would increase your benefit rate by as much as 24% if you don't reinstate your payments until you reach age 70.

Best, Jerry