I am 63, and plan to continue to work full time to at least age 66 +2, possibly to age 70. My wife is self employed, and will turn 62 in November. She will continue indefinitely with her small business endeavor that we operate from our home acreage. Net annual income from this endeavor varies from slight losses, to a max of about $14K.
My most recent SSI e-est was $2086 per month if I retired now, $2667 at 66+2, $3488 at 70.
My wife's most recent e-est was $655 at age 62.

Could she begin to collect SS this Fall at age 62, based on receiving half of my current age benefit (which is much larger than her own), or would I have to also be collecting SS for this to be an option?

Or, is there a more logical other option to consider?

Thank you,
Mark

Hi Mark,

Your wife couldn't receive spousal benefits on your record at least until you start receiving your benefits. She could file for retirement benefits on her own record at age 62 and then potentially file for additional spousal benefits when you file for your benefits, but that would result in her receiving a reduced benefit rate for as long as both of you are living. Here's how that might work based on the figures cited in your question:

If your wife files for her benefits at age 62 and her reduced rate is $655, that means that her full retirement age rate (PIA) is around $894. When you file for your benefits your wife's spousal rate would be determined by subtracting her PIA from 50% of your PIA, and that difference would also be reduced for age if you file for your benefits before your wife reaches full retirement age (FRA). So, if you filed at your FRA and your PIA was $2667, to calculate your wife's spousal rate you would subtract her PIA from half of your PIA to get an unreduced spousal rate of around $439 (i.e. $2667/2 - $894). However, her spousal rate also would be reduced for age based on the number of months she's below her FRA in the month you start drawing your benefits. The resulting spousal benefit would then be added to her own reduced rate of $655 to calculate her combined benefit rate.

It doesn't sound like your wife's earnings would be high enough to interfere with drawing reduced benefits is she so chooses. Social Security's earnings test exempt amount is $17,040 this year and your wife net self-employment earnings apparently won't exceed that amount.

Before deciding what to do, you and your wife should strongly consider using our maximization software to explore and compare all of your options in order to determine your best overall strategy.

Best, Jerry