I was born in 1956 and worked enough years to draw some social security benefits. My partner was born in 1954 and will be waiting until age 70 to start collecting social security. If I start to draw my own benefit now, will it affect the amount of my spousal benefit when I switch to half of my partners since that amount will be larger than mine.

Hi. Yes. First off, you can't actually switch from drawing your own benefits to drawing just spousal benefits. You can, however, file for your own benefits first and then potentially qualify for an excess spousal benefit when your spouse starts drawing benefits. But, if you start drawing your own benefits before full retirement age (FRA) you'll be stuck with the resulting age reduction in your benefit rate even if you later qualify for an excess spousal benefit.

For example, say Amy files for her benefits this year at age 65. Amy's primary insurance amount (PIA), or full retirement age rate, would be $800, but Amy's rate is reduced for age to $728. Several years later when Amy is over FRA, her husband applies for his benefits. Amy's husband's PIA is $2000, so Amy's unreduced excess spousal rate is calculated by subtracting her PIA from 50% of her husband's PIA. In Amy's case, that amounts to $200 (i.e. $2000/2 - $800). That amount would then be paid in addition to Amy's own reduced rate of $728 to give her a combined rate of $928.

You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry