My husband will turn 66 on 1/12/20. Does he need to either file for social security or file and suspend before his birthday? He has been ill so We don’t know how long we will be able to suspend collecting. My birthday is 1/10/56. Is it possible that I will be able to file and suspend then collect spousal benefits either now or when I turn 66 +4 months?

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear that your husband has been ill. There's no need for him to apply for his Social Security benefits until he actually wants to start drawing them. He doesn't need to file for and suspend his benefits in order to earn delayed retirement credits (DRC) for any months that he doesn't draw benefits between his full retirement age (FRA) and age 70. The DRCs would increase his benefit rate by 2/3rds of 1% for each month that he delays taking his benefits until he reaches age 70, regardless of whether he files for and suspends his benefits or if he simply delays applying for his benefits.

The only way that you could qualify for spousal benefits now or in the future is if a) your husband is drawing his benefits, and b) 50% of your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA) is higher than your PIA. Otherwise, you can't be paid spousal benefits even if you file for and suspend your own benefits. Since you were born after January 1 1954, you couldn't file for spousal without also filing for your own benefits at the same time (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html). And, if your own PIA is more than half of the amount of your husband's PIA, that would make you ineligible for spousal benefits.

You and your husband may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore all of your various options so that you can determine the best way to maximize your benefits.

Best, Jerry