I started my SS at 70 at maximum possible amount. My spouse (lower earner) turns 62 in July 2022. What strategy may we use jointly to maximize our combined SS? Thank You.

Hi. Whenever your wife applies for either her own Social Security retirement benefits or for spousal benefits, she'll be deemed to be applying for both benefits. As a result, she'll only qualify for roughly the higher of her own benefit rate or her spousal rate. And, if she starts drawing benefits prior to her full retirement age (FRA), her benefit rate will be permanently reduced for age.

Your wife's best filing strategy depends on a number of different factors, such as your and your wife's comparative primary insurance amounts (PIA). Depending on all of those different variables, your wife's best strategy could be to apply any time between age 62 and age 70. Therefore, she should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of her options so that she can determine the best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry