I am 64, born 11/01/1953, still working and don't plan on retiring until I'm 70, my husband is 64 and has been receiving social security disability for 3 years. Am I eligible for spousal benefits while I'm still working and not at FRA?

Hi,

Probably not. If you filed for spousal benefits prior to your full retirement age (FRA) you would be deemed to also be filing for reduced retirement benefits on your own record, and you would then only be eligible for spousal benefits if 50% of your husband's SSDI rate is higher than your own full retirement age rate (PIA). Furthermore, any benefits that you qualify for prior to FRA could be subject to full or partial withholding based on Social Security's earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html).

What you can, and likely should, consider doing instead is filing just for spousal benefits only at your FRA. That way you wouldn't be deemed to also be filing for your own retirement benefits, and you could then let your retirement benefit rate grow until age 70 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html). You may want to strongly consider using our software to determine if this or some other strategy would be best in your case.

Best, Jerry