This year my wife turns 62 in July and will file for her early benefit at that time. I will retire in September of this year at age 67 and over my FRA. At that time I plan on filing a restricted application for spousal benefit and allow mine to grow till age 70 when I file for my own benefit. My question is will my earnings I receive prior to my retirement date limit in any way the amount of my spousal benefit or my wife's benefit?

Hi,

No. Your 2019 earnings wouldn't affect either your benefits nor your wife's benefits because you have already reached your full retirement age (FRA).

The plan you have in mind sounds fine, but you wouldn't want to wait beyond the first month that your wife claims her retirement benefits to claim spousal benefits. Your spousal benefit rate would be the same regardless of whether you start drawing at age 66 or 67 or anytime thereafter. Unless your wife was born on July 1st or 2nd, in which case she could qualify for benefits effective with July, it sounds like her earliest possible month of eligibility would be August. And, if she claims her benefits at that time you would almost certainly want to start your spousal benefits effective with the same month.

I can't say for sure whether or not your plan is your best option, though, so before filing you should strongly consider using our software to compare all of your options so that you can be certain of choosing your best possible strategy for claiming your benefits.

Best, Jerry