Ask Larry

Can I Collect On My Husband's Record At Full Retirement Age And Allow My Own Rate To Grow Until Age 70?

My birthday is 3/17/56 so I am currently 61. My husband is retired and is collecting Social Security. He is 76. When I am full retirement age 66 years and 4 months, can I collect on his benefit and let mine continue to grow until I am 70? What percentage will I be able to collect on his account? He currently receives about $2,200 a month gross. If I wait until I'm 70 to collect on my account, my benefit (according to today's chart) will be about $3,100. We have gotten at least three different answers on this! I appreciate any help you can give us.
Thank you!
Claudia

Hi Claudia,

Unfortunately, no. Since you were born after January 1 1954, you would be deemed to be filing for your own benefits whenever you filed for spousal benefits. Only people born prior to January 2 1954 can file a restricted application for spousal benefits only at full retirement age and allow their own benefit rate to grow until age 70 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html).

You may want to consider using the maximization software available on this website in order to fully explore your options and determine your best overall filing strategy.

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Nov 27 2017 - 7:13am
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