I read "Get What's Yours," which was very helpful. My question relates to a change in policy after the book was published.

The question: Should I apply for Social Security benefits in 2021 or should we both wait until we are 70 if possible? In 2021 my husband can apply for spousal benefits while letting his Social Security benefit accrue. I cannot. He was born in 1953 (July). I was born in 1954. He is in good, but not perfect health.

I'm from a family of coupon clippers who love deals, so I love the idea of the "spousal" income, but I don't want to be blinded by it. We have savings and IRAs that I could draw on without needing the Social Security before 70.
I've looked at the tax ramifications (as much as an amateur can read about it), break even dates, the fact that some of the savings earns less than 8% a year--and I'm still stuck. Our tax bracket is relatively low and should continue that way until we have to take mandatory withdrawals. We aren't wealthy--I'm a good saver. I'm also trying not to look back and say perhaps I should have started taking Social Security at 66.

Thank you. Happy holidays.

Hi. The answer to your question depends in large part on your and your husband's relative primary insurance amounts (PIA), but ultimately the choice of when to start drawing your benefits is a personal decision. By the way, a person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

If your husband's PIA is higher than your PIA, that would be a point in favor of starting your benefits early in order to allow your husband to collect spousal benefits. The reason I say that is because a surviving spouse can be paid up to the higher of their own benefit amount or their deceased spouse's amount, so if your husband's benefit rate will be higher than yours and if he dies before you then you'd get his higher rate instead of yours. So, in that case, the lower monthly rate you'd get by starting your own benefit early would only be a liability for as long as both of you are living.

As I said before, though, it's really up to you and your husband to decide which filing option you believe would work out best for you in the long run. You should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of your various options so that you can decide which filing strategy you feel would be the most likely to maximize your benefits.

Best, Jerry