My wife and I just turned 67 in March. Linda has been receiving SS benefits for less than 1 year. I plan to wait to age 70 to draw my SS. If I apply today for spousal benefits, how would that affect my age 70 benefit? I am concerned about losing COLA. Thank you!

Hi,

Filing a restricted application for just spousal benefits won't have any effect on your own Social Security retirement benefits, so it sounds like you should probably file for the spousal benefits immediately. You could have started drawing your spousal benefits as soon as your wife started drawing her benefits, but you can only claim benefits retroactively for a maximum of 6 months from your date of application. Therefore, a delay in filing may result in a loss of benefits. You may want to strongly consider using our software first, though, to make sure that you and your wife are choosing the best possible strategy.

Best, Jerry