Dear Larry,

I am 69 and My wife is 67 years young. My wife started her SS at her FRA 66 yrs. and I am collecting SS on her record and plan to claim on my record on April, 2021 when I will be 70 yrs.
My question is, when I start my SS on my 70th birth month, can my wife suspend her SS on her record and start to collect on my record? And restart her's when she turns 70? Will her SS grow during this time?

I read your column regularly and learnt a lot. Thanks in advance for answering my question.

Thanks & Regards,
Shyam

Hi Shyam,

No, your wife could not suspend her own benefits and collect spousal benefits instead. Once a person files for their own Social Security retirement benefits, that becomes their primary benefit for life. Even if they suspend their own benefits, Social Security counts their own benefit as still being payable when calculating whether or not they could qualify for spousal benefits.

Therefore, when you file for your own benefits your wife could only qualify for spousal benefits if 50% of your primary insurance amount (PIA) is higher than her own PIA, or her own PIA augmented by delayed retirement credits (DRC) if she started drawing her benefits after full retirement age (FRA). A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing at FRA. If your wife does qualify for spousal benefits when you file for your benefits, she'd want to claim them effective with the same month that you claim your benefits. Spousal benefit rates do not get higher if you wait past FRA to claim them.

Best, Jerry