Hi, I started receiving my Social Security benefits when I turned 62, two years ago [~1100/mo]. I had 'retired' from the City of Portland in 1998 with a Medical Layoff that was 'supposed to' turn into a Disability Retirement. Standard Insurance refused the Disability Retirement, after Appeals. So I considered my 'early retirement' as delayed Disability payments. My wife will turn 63 in October. At this point in time, are there any 'strategies' we can use that will increase our income? My wife works part-time for a School District, and has no intention of retiring in the near future. Thanks, Marty

Marty, your wife can file just for her unreduced spousal benefit at her full retirement age (FRA) of 66 and then file for her retirement benefit at 70. Or you could suspend your retirement benefit at your FRA to earn delayed retirement credits and largely recoup the reduction in benefit amount you incurred by filing early. It's not possible to say with certainty what your best strategy is without more information. Our software can determine your maximized strategy and will also let you enter any number of what-if strategies to see how they compare with one another and with the maximized strategy. Thanks, John