I am 67 and my wife is 62. I plan to enroll in SS when I am 70. My FRA is 2600/month. My wife would receive $1000 at FRA. We are both healthy. Any recommendations?

Hi,

It's not necessarily a recommendation, but you may want to at least consider having your wife file for her retirement benefits now if she's not earning too much (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html). That way you could draw spousal benefits until you reach age 70, at which time you would switch to your own record and your wife would file for spousal benefits.

The downside of that strategy is that your wife's retirement and spousal benefits would then be reduced for age for as long as you both are living. Her widow's rate if you died first would not be reduced, though, as long as she didn't start drawing widow's benefits prior to her full retirement age.

You and your wife should strongly consider using our maximization software to fully compare your options and determine what you feel is your best strategy.

Best, Jerry