SPOUSAL BENEFITS if husband hasn't retired yet??
My husband is 65 in August 2018--is the higher wage earner. I am 65 in November 2018. (FRA is 66 for both of us.) My job is ending in the end of May, 2018 due to employer retiring. I do not plan on working further (live in rural area and no work available). I applied for SS benefits for myself online in April 2018 which should begin in June 2018 BUT did not know about "spousal benefits" and if I can even apply for them. My research shows that IF my husband retires this Fall at 65 yrs of age, I should be entitled to 44.1% of his SS benefits which would be more than my SS benefits by about $210 + or -. Every little bit helps. My husband is not well and is waffling between retiring this fall or working another year to fall of 2019 when he will be 66 at FRA. My question is: What can we do to get the most $$$ from our SS? Should I or can I put my application on "hold" until my husband applies for his SS? Or can I ask for the spousal benefits after starting my SS benefits if he retires in 16 months from now in Aug 2019? Neither of us plan on waiting until age 70 to get SS benefits. I appreciate your help.

Hi,

I can't answer all of your questions because you must ultimately decide what filing strategy you feel is best. What I can tell you is that you can't qualify for spousal benefits at least until your husband starts drawing his own benefits. If 50% of your husband's full retirement age rate (PIA) is higher than your own PIA and you file for your benefits before your husband files for his benefits, then you could file for additional spousal benefits when he files for his benefits.

Since you and your husband were both born prior to January 2 1954, you'd both have the potential of being able to file for spousal benefits only at full retirement age (FRA) while allowing your own benefit rate to grow until age 70. But again, you can only receive spousal benefits if the other spouse is drawing their own benefits so that strategy could only work for one of you. One strategy that you may want to consider is for your husband to claim spousal benefits only on your record at his FRA and wait until he reaches age 70 to claim his own benefits. That would provide your husband with his highest possible monthly benefit rate and it could also provide you with your highest possible widow's rate if he dies before you.

You and your husband should strongly consider using our maximization software in order to compare all of your potential filing options so that you can make an educated decision on which strategy you feel is best for both of you.

Best, Jerry