Dear Larry,

I turned 66 in October and my husband turned 68 in October. His Social Security benefits are almost twice what mine are. Neither of us have filed for Social Security benefits yet, but due to a change in our financial circumstances, it might be necessary. In fact, I have an appointment with SS on this coming Friday to begin the process. However, before doing so, I want to ask you a few questions first.

1. If I file for my benefits to begin, do I have 12 months to change my mind, as they tell me, as long as I can return all the money I have received? This is critically important and I wanted to hear the answer from you as well.
2. If I do return the payments in full, will SS treat it as though I had never filed, so that my benefits will rise until I am 70 in exactly the same way as they would have if I had not filed?
3. We have been told by SS that my husband can receive a spousal benefit off of my earnings. If he receives the spousal, and then we decide to return the payments on my record and his spousal off of mine, does this jeopardize what he will receive at any point after that? If I file now, he will wait for two more years to file when he is 70, but we would not want his benefits to be impacted in any way if we decide to return the payments.

Thank you very much!
Frances

Hi Frances,

The answer to your first 2 questions is yes, provided that you haven't previously filed for benefits and withdrawn your application (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/withdrawal.html).

Regarding your question 3, it certainly sounds like your husband could receive spousal benefits if you file for your benefits. To do so he would file a restricted application for spousal benefits only, which would still allow his own retirement benefit rate to grow until age 70. If you subsequently change your mind and withdraw your application and refund both your benefits and your husband's spousal benefits, it wouldn't have any adverse impact on the benefit rates that either of you could receive in the future.

Based on your description, it sounds like your optimal strategy may be for you to file for your Social Security retirement benefits retroactive to the month you reached full retirement age (FRA), and to have your husband file just for spousal benefits effective with that same month. He could then switch to his own higher retirement benefits at age 70. However, since I don't have all of the information necessary to properly advise you, you and your husband should strongly consider using our software to compare your various options and determine which filing strategy would most likely meet your long-term goals.

Best, Jerry