Dear Larry;
I am currently coming up on my 62nd birthday and selected three options for drawing my Social Security. I was hoping you could help provide the best option money wise. Please note that I retired 12/18/18.

Option 1) Draw in July at age 62 – July 2019
Option 2) Draw at age 62 ½ - Jan 2020 - (my wife will be 65 in September of this year)
Option 3) Wait until my wife is 66 – Sept 2020 (her full retirement age maxing out on the spousal benefit)

Additional Info:
Myself
Born July 1957
Have 45 years of work history
Retired in 12/18/18

Spouse
Born September 1954
Have 18 years of work history
Began drawing SS at age 62

Hi,

There isn't necessarily a 'best' among those 3 options. Each would have positive and negative aspects, but which would be the most preferable option would likely depend largely on your assumptions about the future, including your and your wife's maximum lifespans. Furthermore, without knowing your and your wife's relative benefit rates I can't determine how much, if any, spousal benefits she would qualify for when you start drawing your benefits.

One thing that you may not have considered is that although filing for your benefits early would potentially allow your wife to qualify for spousal benefits sooner, it will also significantly reduce the monthly benefit rate that your wife could expect to receive if she is widowed. If you die before your wife her survivor rate would be limited to no more than the higher of a) her own benefit rate, or b) 82.5% of your primary insurance amount (PIA), or c) your benefit rate at the time of your death. So, the closer you are to age 70 when you start drawing your benefits, the higher your wife's potential survivor rate would be.

It's entirely possible that there are much better options for you and your wife than any of those you've mentioned. There are hundreds of possible options for you to consider, and using our software would be the best way to properly explore and compare all of those options.

Best, Jerry