Hi Larry,

Long-time reader and thanks for all you and your team do!

I am 51yo male married to a 63yo husband (who stopped working a well paying job at age 50, nice for him, right?). We are comfortable in our finances: mortgage paid off, no debt, well funded savings, 401k/IRA, etc, no kids, no extravagant spending and I earn in 6 figures. Not wealthy but definitely comfortable ... I plan to work approximately 5 more years myself.

We certainly don't "need" the money at present, but I often wonder if he should file now vs age 70 and we simply invest/save the money. Those dollars x the 5 years I have remaining to work could make for a nice slush fund to pay for unexpected health care costs or whatever...

Assuming our financial health keeps constant, I would also consider filing at 62 for myself as my reduced rate at that age would exceed his then current payment.

Thx!

Hi,

If your plan is to claim benefits early thinking that by investing the proceeds you'll end up better off than you would by waiting to claim your benefits at a higher rate, you should first read the following column for Larry's thoughts on the subject: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/take-social-security-benefits-early....

You and your husband are free to file for your benefits early at a reduced rate if you want to, but you should first strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to find out how your decision would likely affect your benefits over the long term. The software will allow you to fully explore and compare your options so that you can determine your optimal strategy for claiming benefits.

Best, Jerry