I will be 66 in 2017, my wife will be 62 in 2017. Can my wife start to collect her Social Security partial at 62, then when she turns 67 can she stop collecting her portion, and start collecting my half? My half will be more then the portion she will be getting. Thanks, Lawrence

Lawrence, to be clear she would not be collecting your half. She'd be collecting her spousal benefit which is equal to 50% of your retirement benefit at your full retirement age (FRA) but this would not reduce your benefit. If you've already filed for your retirement benefit and she files for her retirement benefit before her FRA, she'll be deemed to have also filed for her spousal benefit and both will be permanently reduced. If you haven't filed for your retirement benefit when she files for hers, she won't be deemed at the time but will be once you file for your retirement benefit. Also, if she files for her retirement benefit early and avoids deeming, she still won't receive her full spousal benefit since she filed for her retirement benefit early. Our software will determine how to maximize your household benefits and let you compare any number of what-if strategies to the maximized strategy and to each other. Thanks, John