My wife started taking social security benefits around age 62 thinking that when I file she would get half of what I get since my benefits are greater. Is that correct? If not, is it possible to reverse it? She is five years older than me. Thanks!

Hi,

No, that isn't correct and whether or not your wife can reverse course depends on how long she's been drawing benefits. To explain, even if your wife later becomes eligible for spousal benefits she'll continue to receive her own reduced retirement benefits. Any additional spousal benefits would be calculated by subtracting her primary insurance amount (PIA) from 50% of your PIA. A person's PIA is equal to the amount of their Social Security retirement benefit if they start drawing at full retirement age (FRA).

For example, say Sally files for her own benefits at age 62. Sally's PIA is $1000, but she receives a reduced rate of $750 in return for starting her benefits early. Five years later, Sally's husband files for his benefits with a PIA of $2400. Sally's spousal benefit would then be $200 (i.e. $2400/2 - $1000), which would be unreduced since Sally has already reached FRA when she becomes eligible for spousal benefits. Sally's excess spousal rate would then be paid in addition to her reduced retirement benefit to give her a combined benefit amount of $950.

If your wife has been drawing benefits for less than 12 months she could potentially withdraw her application and reapply later. However, she'd need to repay any benefits that she's already collected. If your wife has been drawing benefits for more than 12 months, though, withdrawal of her application would no longer be an option (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/withdrawal.html).

Best, Jerry