My husband and I are retiring in 2 years. I will be 62 and he will be 57. My husband is the high wage earner now making $135,00 annually while my wages are $25,000. We have saved enough to live on for 8 years so don't need to draw on social security. With our age difference when would it be best for each of us to start drawing on social security and when should we begin to do that and how? What about spousal benefits?

Hi,

There are numerous different possibilities to consider, and only you can ultimately decide when to file for your benefits. Basically, you can file as early as age 62 or as late as age 70, and the longer you wait to start drawing within that span of time the higher your benefit rate would be.

Since both you and your husband were born after January 1 1954, you couldn't draw just spousal benefit only without also filing for your own retirement benefits at the same time. So, the only way that spousal benefits could be paid is if one of you has a primary insurance amount (PIA) that is more than twice as much as the other spouse's PIA.

I can't begin to properly advise you and your husband about your best filing strategies knowing only your ages and current earnings levels. You should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore and compare all of your options so that you can choose the best possible strategy for claiming your benefits.

Best, Jerry