My husband, who will be 64 in July and is not collecting SS and I, who will be 62 in December got married September 16, 2017. Can he collect on my SS when I turn 62 in December even though I will not be collecting my SS at that time? If not, when can he collect on mine? Thank you!

Hi,

No. You would have to be drawing your benefits in order for your husband to potentially qualify for spousal benefits, and he could only qualify for spousal benefits if 50% of your full retirement age rate (PIA) is higher than his own PIA. Since your husband was born after January 1 1954, whenever he files for either retirement benefits on his own record or spousal benefits he'll be deemed to be filing for both. He could only be paid essentially the higher of those 2 rates, and his benefit rate would be reduced for age if he files prior to full retirement age.

You and your husband should strongly consider using our maximization software in order to compare all of your filing options and determine your best overall strategy.

Best, Jerry