My FRA is 67, my spouse is older than me and her FRA is 66 yrs, 10 mons. If I apply for early benefits at 64 or 65 and my spouse waits and apply for her Spousal Benefits at her FRA, will she receive 50% of her benefits based on my actual FRA or what I will be receiving when I apply for early benefits? She do not work.

Hi,

If your wife is only eligible for spousal benefits and she starts receiving them at her full retirement age or later, her benefit rate will be equal to 50% of your full retirement age rate (PIA). Whether or not you take early reduced retirement benefits is irrelevant to the computation of her spousal rate, but you would have to be drawing your benefits in order for your wife to be able to receive spousal benefits.

You and your wife may want to consider using our maximization software to compare your options and determine your best overall strategy for claiming your benefits.

Best, Jerry