My wife is 72 and gets $400 a month SS. I am 60 and still working and plan on working till 65-67. My SS says if I keep working as I am till 67 I will draw almost 2,700 a month. I am getting almost $800.00 a month military retirement. Any thots ? Should I have her draw spousal benefits when I'm old enough for her to? I don't think she can right now. Those will be our only income. Total $ amount to be debt free is $35,000. $30,000 of that is on my mortgage. I'm trying to learn more about retirement but it's really confusing. Thank you so much
David

Hi David,

Your wife can't become eligible for spousal benefits on your record until you file and start drawing your benefits. You could do that as early as age 62, but your benefit rate would be reduced and the Social Security earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking2.html) could limit how much you and your wife could receive from your account until you reach full retirement age.

The best strategy for you and your wife is really a personal decision. The earlier you start your benefits, the sooner she could become eligible for spousal benefits. But the downside is that the earlier you file before age 70, the lower your permanent monthly benefit rate will be. You may want to consider running the maximization software available on this website. That will allow you to run a number of what-if scenarios which should help you decide the filing strategy that is best for you and your wife.

Best, Jerry