I am 60 and earn $135,000/year. My work history is excellent spanning 40 years. I have $500,000 in savings. My husband, also 60 has no savings and has not been able to work at his previous $55,000/yr job due to medical constraints for the past 6 years. He has since begun working a mimimum wage job in order to contribute what he can. However he has recently undergone surgery for a chronic condition and is not working and will not be able to return to work for a minimum of 6 months if at all. I've been told that trying to obtain social security disability benefits for my husband will most probably be denied and even if they were to approve him for these benefits, it would be 2 years before he's ever see any money.
My question is: What is the best strategy for maximizing our social security benefits under these complex conditions.

Hi,

I would encourage your husband to apply for Social Security disability benefits. It costs nothing to apply, and there is no other way to determine if he's eligible. If his claim is approved, he will be eligible for the equivalent of his full retirement age benefit paid early, so it could make a big difference to him. Disability benefits can be payable as early as 6 months after the person stops doing substantial gainful work, which is currently defined as earnings of more than $1130 per month. For more info, see: https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10029.pdf.

Statistically, disability claims are denied more than they are approved, but many claims are filed for problems that are clearly not disabling impairments. Some people apply for things such as pregnancy or broken arms, even though a minimum disability of at least 12 months is required for entitlement. If your husband's claim is denied, he can appeal, and the approval rate at the second appeals step, which is the hearings level, is generally relatively high. The appeals process does take time, however, and those are the types of cases that take 2 years or more to see any payments.

Other than that, the best strategy depends on numerous factors, particularly life expectancy. If you can afford to, it's likely best to wait until age 70 to apply for your retirement benefits. However, that may not be best for a person in poor health. You may wish to consider running the maximization software available on this website to help you determine your best strategy.

Best, Jerry