Larry -

If I turn 70 on Oct (1st-10th of the month), and my wife turns 70 in January (10th - 20th of the month) - when should we sign up for Social Security benefits to Maximize our Social Security and also not have Social Security office staff do a 6 months retro on our monthly benefits. Thanks

Hi,

If you want your benefits to start effective with the month you reach age 70, you would choose October as your month of election to start benefits unless you were born on October 1st, in which case you'd want to choose September. In your wife's case, she'd want to choose January as her month of election assuming that she too want's to start drawing effective with age 70. Social Security won't start your benefits any earlier than the month you choose as your month of election to begin drawing benefits. You can file your applications up to 4 months prior to the month you want to start drawing benefits.

If both you and your wife choose to start drawing your Social Security retirement benefits effective with the month you each reach age 70, your wife could file a restricted claim for spousal benefits only starting with the month you start drawing your benefits. That would permit her to receive a spousal benefit equal to 50% of your full retirement age rate for a few months prior to filing for her own benefits at age 70. Doing so would not have any adverse effect on your wife's own retirement benefit rate at age 70. However, that may not be your optimal strategy depending on your and your wife's relative benefit rates. You and your wife should strongly consider using our software to compare all of your various options so that you can choose the best possible strategy for claiming your benefits.

Best, Jerry