Hi Larry,

My wife and I have reached FRA and are ‘grandparented’ so she is eligible to take the spousal benefit and let her own benefit grow until age 70 if she chooses. However, even if she waits her own benefit will still be significantly less than the spousal benefit.

Therefore, my question is whether my wife will be able to continue receiving the spousal benefit after she reaches age 70. Though I have read your book, searched related questions on your website and feel reasonably certain that she can, I have not been able to find a direct statement to this effect.

Can you give me a definitive answer and, if possible, point us in the direction of a written policy or rule which clearly indicates that spousal benefits may be continued after the spouse reaches age 70?

Thanks so much!

Hi,

Yes, your wife can continue receiving just spousal benefits only even after she reaches age 70. She's not required to ever file for her own retirement benefits, nor would there likely be any point in doing so if she files for her spousal benefits first and her own retirement rate would be lower than her spousal rate

However, based on your description it sounds like you may want to at least consider an alternate filing strategy. Specifically, your wife could file for her retirement benefits first which would allow you to file for spousal benefits only starting with the later of your full retirement age (FRA) or your wife's first month of retirement benefit entitlement. You could then switch to your own record at age 70, at which time your wife could file for an excess spousal benefit on your record.

The alternate strategy outlined above would not only provide you with your highest possible monthly benefit rate for as long as you live, but would also provide your wife with her highest possible widow's rate if you die before her. You and your wife should strongly consider using our maximization software to compare your various filing options in order to identify the strategy that would likely work out best for both of you in the long run.

Best, Jerry