I am 73, retired and draw social security. My spouse is not retired and 63. Can she draw any benefits against my social security now? Any penalties when she reaches full retirement age?

Hi,

If your spouse files anytime before her full retirement age (FRA), she'll be deemed to be filing for both spousal benefits and retirement benefits on her own record. In that event, she'll basically just receive the higher of the 2 rates and her benefit rate will be reduced for age. Her benefits would also be subject to the Social Security earnings test until she reaches FRA (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking2.html).

If your spouse was born prior to January 2 1954, she would have the option of filing just for spousal benefits only at FRA and allowing her own retirement rate to grow until age 70 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html). The maximization software available on this website should be able to help your spouse determine her best filing strategy.

Best, Jerry