Hi Larry,

I am 53 and work full time. My plan is to begin collecting SS at my full retirement age of 67 (though I would like to retire sooner). My wife is 62, does not work due to disability and collects SSDI. At my current earnings rate, my SS benefit would be about $3153/mo. My wife's SSDI is currently about $1050/mo. In order for my wife to be able to collect spousal SS based on my earnings, do we have to wait till I actually begin collecting SS? Due to our age difference, that would put as at a disadvantage since she would be 76 before I plan to collect.

Hi. Yes, your wife couldn't collect spousal benefits any sooner than when you start drawing your benefits. You and your wife may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully evaluate all of your options so that you can decide which filing strategy would be the most likely to maximize your benefits.

Best, Jerry