My husband retired at age 64, I am still working and plan to continue working until age 68. Am I entitled to half of my husband's benefits at my full retirement age of 66? And if I take that benefit does that in any way affect what he is currently receiving?

Hi,

I assume when you say that your husband retired at age 64, you mean that he started drawing his Social Security retirement benefits then. In that case you could file for spousal benefits only at age 66 while allowing your own retirement benefit rate to continue to grow, but only if you were born prior to January 2 1954 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html). If you were born after January 1 1954 and you filed for spousal benefits you'd be required to file for your own retirement benefits at the same time, and you would only be paid the higher of those 2 benefit rates.

If you were born prior to January 2 1954 and you file for spousal benefits only at age 66, your spousal benefit rate would amount to 50% of your husband's full retirement age rate, or PIA (primary insurance amount). So, your spousal rate could actually amount to more than half of your husband's benefit rate if he's receiving a reduced rate in return for starting his benefits prior to full retirement age (FRA). And, if you do qualify for spousal benefits it would have no effect on your husband's benefits.

It sounds like you should strongly consider using our software to explore and compare your various options so that you can choose your best possible filing strategy.

Best, Jerry