Hi-I am curious to understand, a further question based on "Money Magic" page 72, how is that strategy beneficial long term? If husband claims early, we will permanently lock in a lower benefit, If I assign some hypothetical numbers, if the husband waits until 66 (assume FRA) and the wife until 70, collectively they will receive substantially more if they both live to 100, than if he had filed at 62 and she at 70. Thank you, is my analysis flawed?

Hi. No, your analysis isn't necessarily flawed. Whether or not the example you're referring to would be advantageous depends on a number of different factors, such as the couple's relative benefit rates, ages, and their health. The book doesn't recommend that the mentioned strategy be used in all cases. The purpose of the example is to simply point out that the filing strategy is potentially available to people born prior to January 2 1954.

A great way for people to make sure they use the best possible filing strategy for Social Security benefits is to use our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to compare and analyze all of their options.

Best, Jerry