My husband and I are both planning on waiting until we are 70 to collect SS. I was told that I could be collecting up to half of his benefit now before he starts collecting and it won’t impact his future benefits. He turns 70 in April, 2023. I turn 70 in 2025. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Hi. What you were told is incorrect. First of all, your husband would have to be collecting his benefits in order for you to claim spousal benefits. More importantly, though, since you were born after January 1 1954 you could never claim spousal benefits without being deemed to be filing for your own benefits at the same time (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/claiming.html). That means the only way that you'd ever be able to qualify for spousal benefits while your husband is living is if his primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than twice as much as your own PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

You and your husband may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of your various options in order to make sure that you choose the best possible strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry