Larry.
We have a comfortable income from my pension, investments and I have a business as a consultant. I am 64 and plan on waiting until 70 to take Social Security. My wife is retired and about to turn 62 and her SS benefit will be far less than mine. We are too young to take advantage of the file & suspend strategy that is so beneficial. While her SS income is not critical to support us, my thought is for her to file at 62 and invest her SS income in her Roth IRA hoping the return on the investment will off set some of the 25% reduction we will incur and avoid RMD's later. Will my income reduce her benefit and do you think this may be a good strategy for our situation??
Hi,
Your income wouldn't reduce the benefits that your wife could draw on her own record, but I can't advise your wife when to file. It's generally not a winning strategy, though, to claim benefits early thinking that you could do better investing the money than you'd do by waiting until full retirement age (FRA) or age 70 in order to get a higher monthly benefit rate. For Larry's thoughts on that subject, refer to the following article: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/economy/take-social-security-benefits-early....
It sounds like you and your wife should strongly consider using our software to fully explore and compare your various options in order to determine your best overall strategy.
Best, Jerry