My wife is 63 (I am 62) and neither of us are currently working other than small part time opportunities. We are looking at having her apply for her benefit (basically to cover our health care premiums) and have read an article that suggested that she could apply for her benefit at the reduced rate and then when she reaches her full retirement age of 66 she could suspend her benefit and receive the delayed retirement credits on her reduced amount. The thought being that once on Medicare our health care premiums will be reduced and there would not be the need for her benefit and we can take advantage of the delayed retirement credits. Is the article correct and is this a valid scenario for us to follow. If not was it part of the changes that went into effect in 2016? Thanks!

Hi,

Yes, the scenario you describe is possible and was not affected by the recent changes passed by Congress in 2015 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/suspend.html).

Before either of you files, though, you should strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website in order to determine if there are more advantageous filing strategies possible for you and your wife.

Best, Jerry