My wife and I were both born in 1955. She in February myself in November. We have both continue to work full-time jobs and were not planning on retiring until 2025 when we turn 70. I make 6 times the amount my wife does for our local school district, obviously 1/2 my benefit is greater than her benefit alone. Originally we were going to file and suspend until that was removed. Lately, I have been thinking about her taking her full benefit this year and switching to my benefit in 2025 when I retire. We would have to switch to Married filing separately if we do this. I was wondering what you thought and is it still possible for a person to switch to thier spouses benefit later on after receiving thier own?

Hi,

No one can actually 'switch' to drawing just a spousal benefit if they're already drawing their own Social Security benefits. What your wife could do, though, is file for her own benefits at her full retirement age (FRA) and then file for an additional, or excess, spousal benefit when you file for your benefits. The net result would be essentially the same as switching to a spousal benefit, since her combined benefit rate would then add up to half of your primary insurance amount (PIA). A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

For example, say Amy files for her benefits at FRA. Amy's primary insurance amount (PIA), or full retirement age rate, is $500. Amy's husband, whose PIA is $2000, hasn't yet filed for his benefits so Amy can't qualify for any spousal benefits. However, when Amy's husband does start drawing his benefits, Amy's can file for an excess spousal benefit equal to the difference between her PIA and 50% of her husband's PIA. In Amy's case, that would amount to $500 (i.e. $2000/2 - $500). Amy would then be paid both her own benefit and her excess spousal benefit to give her a combined benefit rate of $1,000.

If your wife's benefit rate if she waited until age 70 to start drawing her benefits would still be less than 50% of your PIA, then it would almost certainly be advantageous for her to start drawing her own benefits no later than at her FRA. She could file for her own benefits prior to FRA, but if she does so her benefit rate will be reduced for age and that age reduction would continue for as long as both of you are living. In other words, if she files for a reduced benefit on her own record and later qualifies for an excess spousal benefit, her combined benefit rate would be less than 50% of your PIA.

I'm not sure why you feel that you and your wife would have to file your taxes differently if she starts collecting benefits. That's certainly not mandatory. You and your wife may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry