Dear Larry: My wife and I were born before Jan. 1, 1954. I am 67, she is 68. Neither of us have claimed social security benefits yet. We currently live off my pension from my job. We both also still work a bit yet and earn a small income per year. She and I both have enough credits to qualify for SS. Currently I have an estimated SS benefit of around 2,000 per month and my wife around 300 per month. My question is: Is it worth it for us to claim a file and restrict benefit now or just wait until we decide to claims SS benefits (mine and spousal) on or before age 70?

Hi,

In my opinion it certainly appears to be worth it. Based on the benefit amounts listed in your question, it would almost certainly be smart for your wife to file for her Social Security retirement benefits ASAP and for you to file a restricted application for just spousal benefits only. You could both claim the benefits for up to 6 months retroactively, which is likely your best option.

If your wife claims her retirement benefits now and you claim spousal benefits, you can continue to let your own Social Security retirement benefit grow until age 70. You could then apply to switch from spousal benefits to your own retirement benefits when you reach age 70 (or before then), and your wife can then apply for spousal benefits on your record. Your wife would then end up receiving a combined rate equal to 50% of your primary insurance amount (PIA), which is the same amount she'd receive if she had filed for spousal benefits only.

You and your wife should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to confirm your optimal strategy, since my answer is based only on the limited information in your question.

Best, Jerry