My wife and I are both 62 and working, can she collect ss and keep working until she retires, then collect off of mine when I retire. Would there be any negative consequences?

Hi,

The answer to the first part of your question depends on how much your wife will be earning. If it's more than $15,720 annually, she'd lose some or all of her benefits due to the Social Security earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking2.html).

Assuming that her earnings will be low enough to permit her to receive benefits, the downside of her filing for benefits prior to full retirement age is that she'll keep that reduction for as long as both of you are living. Also, if she turned 62 after January 1 2016, she'd be deemed to have applied for spousal benefits on your record as soon as you file. That could mean a reduced excess spousal benefit as well.

Your best bet is probably to run the maximization software available on this website. That way, you can compare various filing scenarios in order to determine your best strategy.

Best, Jerry