i was 69 born ion 26 oct 1953. my wife is 76. she never earned enough credits for social security on her own. fell short of doing file and suspend before the phaseout.. understand that i could still do it, as i was born before 1 jan 54, but it is pointless as as my wife cannot collect spousal benefits until i do. is that correct? I am still working and will work at least one more year and had hoped to wait till i am 70 to draw social security. trying to figure out if i should file sooner. some urgency as my wife has recently gotten metastatic pancreatic cancer and may not survive that long and the medical bills are staggering. the social security calculator estimates current benefit at 70 as $4086 per month for me and $1809 monthly for her. moving the slider to jan 23 as the draw date for me gets me $3906 and i presume my wife stays at $1809 due to FRA calculation. can i trust that calculation? if accurate the hit is modest 3906 versus $4086. i have your software and your book. the net present value difference.

Timothy: Feb 2023 (70) N/A N/A $1,192,004
Wanida: N/A Feb 2023 (78) N/A $358,474
Total: $1,550,478
Maximized Filing Dates Summary
Name Retirement Spousal Survivor Present Value
Timothy: Oct 2023 (70) N/A N/A $1,212,469
Wanida: N/A Oct 2023 (78) N/A $347,140
Total: $1,559,609
is modest. seems like i should file sooner?

i appreciate your efforts and the real impact you make to help people make astute decisions about their financial future

Hi. I'm sorry to hear about your wife's illness. I should first explain that I answer questions submitted to this forum, but I don't have access to our software subscriber's data. Therefore, you may want to resubmit your questions using an online contact form that can be found in the help menu. You'll then receive a more personalized response from one of out experts with access to your customer data.

I can tell you, though, that you are correct that your wife couldn't be paid spousal benefits for any months prior to when you start drawing your benefits. The file and suspend strategy would not have allowed your wife to collect spousal benefits any sooner than when you start drawing your benefits. The last day that people were allowed to voluntarily suspend their benefits and still allow their spouse to collect spousal benefits was April 29 2016, and since you reached your full retirement age (FRA) well after that there was no way that you could have taken advantage of the file and suspend strategy.

Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) allows you to adjust the maximum age to which you believe that you and your wife could live. What I would suggest, given your wife's illness, is that you adjust the maximum ages to which you believe that you and your wife may live and then rerun your software results. Depending on the maximum ages you enter, the software may well advise you to start drawing your benefits sooner. The earliest that you could claim benefits is 6 months prior to the month in which you file your applications. For example, if you apply in November 2022, you and your wife could start drawing benefits retroactively to as far back as May 2022.

Filing sooner will reduce your monthly benefit rate, as well as the maximum widow's rate for which your wife could receive. But, if you don't believe that your wife will outlive you, then her maximum widow's rate wouldn't be a factor to consider. So, the best filing option in your particular case will depend on your and your wife's expected maximum ages.

Best, Jerry