Hi Larry,

I am 67 (March) and my wife will be 66 in September. I am planning on filing for my benefits now with a start date of 9/1/18 and simultaneously my wife will apply for her spousal benefit with a start date of 9/1/18 using a restricted application. My benefit is four times higher than hers. My questions are as follows:

1. Are our start dates correct and can we file both applications simultaneously?
2. How long can she receive her spousal benefits-can she continue to receive these benefits past her age 70? Her PIA at age 70 will be less than 1/2 my PIA.

Thanks, doug

Hi Doug,

Yes, you and your wife could file at the same time, and your wife would be allowed to file a restricted application for spousal benefits only effective with the month she reaches full retirement age (i.e. September if that's when she reaches age 66). But, there's probably no point in her filing a restricted application for spousal benefits only if her own retirement benefit rate at age 70 won't exceed 50% of your full retirement age rate. Your wife could continue to receive spousal benefits for as long as both of you are living, so it would likely be pointless for her to file for her own benefits in the future if she's already receiving higher spousal benefits.

What you should strongly consider doing as an alternative strategy is to have your wife file for her retirement benefits and you file a restricted application for spousal benefits only on her record. Then, when you reach age 70 you can file for your retirement benefits and your wife can file for spousal benefits on your account. That would not only assure you of receiving your highest possible benefit rate for life, but that higher rate would also transfer over to your wife's widow's benefit rate if you die before her.

Before filing, you and your wife should definitely consider using our maximization software in order to compare your options so that you can determine which filing strategy would likely be most advantageous for you in the long run.

Best, Jerry