If I claim my own benefit at 66 and my husband claims spousal on my benefit until he turns 70, then can I turn around and claim spousal benefit on my husband's record when he claims his Social Security at age 70 and received half of his total benefit? He turns 66 in April 2017 and I in December 2017.

Hi,

Not exactly. You could file for an excess spousal benefit when he files if you're eligible, though. I'll explain with an example.

Say Jane files for her full retirement age benefit (PIA) at age 66, and her PIA is $500. Her spouse, Dick, files a restricted application for spousal benefits only at age 66 and receives half of her PIA, or $250. When Dick, whose PIA is $2000, subsequently files on his own account at age 70, Jane can apply for an excess spousal benefit on his account. Jane's excess spousal benefit will be $500, which is one-half of Dick's PIA minus her own PIA. Thus, her total benefit would then be $1000.

In the above example, Dick would receive $2640 per month at age 70, or 32% more than his PIA. However, Jane's spousal benefits are calculated from his PIA, not his full benefit increased by delayed retirement credits (DRC). But, if Dick dies first, Jane's total benefit would be increased to $2640.

Best, Jerry