Dear Larry,
I have read most of your book, but I find it somewhat overwhelming. My husband is 4 months older than I am, which means he will reach his full benefit age (66) in June of 2018. I will reach mine in January of 2018. I am not taking my own SS, because it is a measly pittance as I have basically raised kids all my life and haven't worked a lot. But I do have my quarters, and would receive about 555 a month. So I am planning to wait and take the spousal benefit when my husband reaches the age of 66. That will give us 3831.00 combined income, every month. We also have Roth IRA's, a SEP plan and I have a 92 year old mom who hopefully will be leaving us money. Do you think this is a good strategy for us to just start taking it at 66? Or should we try to exist on our savings for 4 more years to get approx. 4663 a month? That is only 782 a month increase. I thought we were being smart to wait until 66, but according to your book, this isn't the best strategy. That extra $ a year would be nice, but I'm not sure it's worth waiting, because we would miss those 4 years or $183,000 if we wait. I know you don't like the catch-up strategy...but we would both be 88 years old to break even, so I don't know what is best. I need your guidance here.

Hi,

When to apply for benefits is a personal decision, but you may want to run the maximization software available on this website before making your final decision. There are other options that you may not have considered in doing your math.

For example, you could file for your own benefit at age 66, and your husband could file for spousal benefits only on your account when he reaches age 66. Then, he could switch to his own record at age 70, and you could file for an excess spousal benefit at that time. That's likely to be your best long term strategy, but the software will tell you for sure. Also, remember that if your husband dies first, your widow's benefit will depend on when your husband started drawing benefits on his record. If he waits until age 70, your potential widow's benefit amount will be 32% higher than if he starts drawing at age 66. That's true even if he receives spousal benefits on your record from age 66 to 70.

Whatever you and your husband ultimately decide to do, don't fail to file on your own account effective with the month you reach age 66. Failing to do that is simply leaving money on the table. You can still subsequently file for an excess spousal benefit whenever your husband applies, and your total benefit will then increase to 1/2 of his full retirement age rate. Any benefits you draw on your own account from age 66 until you become eligible for spousal benefits is a bonus.

Best, Jerry