I'm 63.5 now, my wife is 5 yrs younger then I am. We are both going to retire in 1 yr. We have IRAs to live on and suppliment our pensions and social security. We expect to spend $20,000 more each year in retirement. I've accounted for health insurance in these numbers. I am planning to start collecting ss at 70. Our current thoughts are for my wife to start collecting ss at 62. We own 2 homes (St. Louis & Denver) and have no debt. After using up the IRAs we'll still have approximately $300,000 in Roths that we don't expect to ever touch. We don't have any nursing home insurance. Do you think there is a better route for us to go as far as what age my wife will start collecting ss?

Hi,

I answer Social Security questions submitted here, and Social Security is my only area of expertise. However, we do have financial planning experts on staff, and it sounds like you may want to consider signing up for our Maxifi software. Please refer to the Maxifi homepage for more information: https://maxifiplanner.com/.

With regard to Social Security, the plan that you stated may or may not be your best overall strategy depending on your and your wife's relative benefit rates among other factors. Your plan to wait until age 70 to file for your benefits is likely good, since that will provide you with the highest possible monthly benefit rate, which could also carry over to your wife's widow's rate should you die first. Either the Maxifi software or our maximization software should be able to help you determine the best overall filing strategy for you and your wife.

Best, Jerry