Hi Larry,I will be turning 62 this September I was born in 1960,I've been on disability for about 11 years,my husband started his SS at age 70yrs old,my question is ( When can I start getting his SS ,but I want to wait so I can get a larger amount. At what age should I start drawing off his SS and what percentage would I get off his SS if I wait. He makes about $1,800 more then I do. Hope I explained ok for you to understand what I'm asking, Thank you,Deanna Ps..And what percentage would I get if I wait until I'm 65. Tks.

Hi Deanna. My answer assumes that your husband is still living. In that case you could potentially claim spousal benefits as early as the first month you are age 62 for a full month. If your birthday is any day from September 3rd through October 2nd, that would be October. But, to get an unreduced spousal benefit you'd need to wait until your full retirement age (FRA) of 67.

If you claim spousal benefits at age 62 instead of age 67, your spousal rate will be reduced by roughly 35%. Here's an example: Let's say Amy is drawing an $800 monthly Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit. Amy's husband filed for his benefits at age 70, and his benefit rate including delayed retirement credits $2640. If Amy files for spousal benefits at her FRA of 67, her spousal rate would be calculated by subtracting her PIA from 50% of her husband's PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA), or their full SSDI rate. Amy's husband's PIA is $2000, so Amy's unreduced spousal benefit rate if $200 (i.e. $2000/2 - $800). However, if Amy claims spousal benefits at age 62 her spousal rate would be reduced to roughly $130 (i.e. $200 x .65).

If you start drawing spousal benefits prior to your FRA, you'll be stuck with the resulting reduction for age applied to your spousal rate for as long as both you and your husband are living. But, if your husband dies before you, even if you start drawing spousal benefits before FRA you could still get an unreduced survivor benefit rate if you're at least FRA when you start drawing survivor benefits.

You should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry