My wife and I are 60 years old. I am the primary income earner and could draw $2000 in SS starting at 62 based on my earning history. My wife can draw $700 at 62 based on her earning history. My question: if I want to wait until my FRA to draw my SS, can I draw a spousal benefit based on my wife’s earning history and if so, how would this affect the amount of SS I would receive at FRA.

Hi,

No, since both you and your wife were born after January 1 1954, neither of you could file for spousal benefits without also being deemed to be filing for your own benefits at the same time (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/claiming.html). The result would be that you would basically just receive the higher of those two benefit rates, and your benefit rate would be reduced for age if you start drawing prior to your full retirement age (FRA).

You and your wife should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to explore and compare all of your filing options so that you can determine the best way to maximize your benefits.

Best, Jerry