I am 66 years old. My financial advisor stressed that I need to start taking my social security benefit now. ( I had planned to wait until age 70 but cannot).
I was married for 34 years. I've been divorced for 6 years. My X wife is 62 years old. I do not know if she has applied for any SS benefits yet. She is currently working after not working for decades while raising our kids. I assume my spousal benefit would be small since she only returned to the work force a few years ago after not working for thirty years
Given our ages should I apply for both my retirement benefits and spousal benefits at the same time?
Thank you,
Jim

Hi Jim,

If your ex-wife is insured for Social Security benefits on her record, your best strategy may be to file just for divorced spousal benefits only effective with age 66, then switch to your own record at age 70. Of course, I'm not privy to all of your financial information like your financial advisor, so you may want to have him explain why he believes you should file for your benefits at age 66 as opposed to age 70.

I would suggest contacting Social Security to find out how much you could receive if you filed now for divorced spousal benefits only. Then, you should strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website to compare your options and determine your best overall filing strategy.

Best, Jerry

Best, Jerry