I'm 71 and have been taking full SS benefit. My wife will begin SS when she turns 66.5 yr old. I understand that she will automatically get the larger of either her own 66.5 SS amount OR a spousal benefit of 1/2 my amount. Do I understand correctly that if it is the spousal benefit, she can change at age 70 to her own benefit at the age 70 amount, but if they give her her own 66.5 yr amount, she is stuck with that amount for life? Spousal + her age 70 amount would be a better deal long term, but is she locked out from that if they automatically give her her own 66.5 amount? Thanks.

Hi,

I assume you mean that your wife's full retirement age (FRA) is 66 & 6 months, in which case she must have been born after January 1 1954. That means that whenever she files for either her own benefits or for spousal benefits, she'll be deemed to be filing for both of those benefits. She'll then be paid essentially the higher of the 2 rates, and her rate will be reduced for age if she starts drawing benefits prior to FRA.

Only people who were born prior to January 2 1954 are allowed to file for spousal benefits at FRA and then switch to their own records at age 70 (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/claiming.html). Your wife may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to her in order to determine the best strategy for maximizing her benefits.

Best, Jerry