my birth date 8/14/1952. my spouses birthdate is 3/2/1953
I file for Social Security in August of 2018 but 'suspend' receiving benefits. My spouse( lower income spouse) files for Social Security in March and I request to receive 1/2 of her benefits. I start taking my benefits at 70. What is her Social Security benefit? 1/2 of my benefit when I was 66 and filed but suspended or 1/2 of my benefit when I start taking my benefits at 70?

Hi,

First of all, if you file for and suspend your own benefits you won't be able to receive any spousal benefits on your wife's record (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/suspendfaq.html). What you would likely want to do instead is simply not file for your own retirement benefits until age 70, which would then allow you to qualify for spousal benefits when your wife files for her benefits.

When you do eventually file for your own benefits and assuming that your wife is already drawing her benefits, her spousal rate would be calculated by subtracting her full retirement age rate (PIA) from 50% of your PIA, not 50% of your benefit rate inclusive of delayed retirement credits (DRC).

You and your wife should strongly consider using our maximization software in order to make sure that you choose the best possible filing strategy.

Best, Jerry