Dear Larry,
I just turned 65 and my husband will turn 62 this October. I just read your column about Liz and Jane and think that we could do claim the same spousal benefits. I do have a question though. In this example, does Liz get a spousal benefit when she reaches 66 and suspends her retirement benefit until she is 70?
Thank you for all you have done to educate us.
B.

Hi B.,

No, Liz would not want to file and suspend on her own record. That would prevent her from receiving spousal benefits. Instead, she should file a restricted application for spousal benefits only effective with the month of full retirement age (FRA) attainment. She can then file separately for benefits on her own record at age 70.

Note that if you and your husband plan to follow this strategy, he will need to be receiving his reduced retirement benefits in order for you to be able to receive spousal benefits. That means that his earnings must be low enough to permit payments under the Social Security earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking2.html).

You may wish to consider running the maximization software available on this website in order to be sure that the above strategy is best for you.

Best, Jerry