I'm age 66 and collecting spousal benefits. I haven't used my retirement social security benefits yet. I am not retired but I have lost my job because of the panademic at this time. I plan to sign up for retirement when I'm. Age 70. My question. When I retire will I lose my. Husbands ss benefits. Will I get one check or two. Pls let me know thanks Mary

Hi Mary,

I assume that your husband is living and you're drawing spousal benefits rather than survivor benefits. Only people born prior to January 2 1954 are allowed to apply for spousal benefits without also being required to file for their own benefits at the same time. And, they can only do so if they file for spousal benefits at full retirement age (FRA) or later.

If you're just drawing spousal benefits and if you eventually apply for your own benefits, you can only be paid the higher of the two rates. By the way, that would be true even if you were receiving survivor benefits instead of spousal benefits. If your own rate is higher, your spousal benefits will be terminated when you start drawing your benefits. If your own rate isn't higher, then there's probably no reason you'd want to apply for your own benefits. If you did, though, you'd be paid your own rate plus a partial spousal benefit rate that would add up to your higher spousal rate. The two benefits would then be combined into one payment.

You may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing benefits.

Best, Jerry