I will be 67 in Jan 2019. My wife will be 66 in
Jan 2019. On Oct 1 she filed for SS and I filed
For spousal benefit w plans to refine for my SS
Benefit and she would file for spousal benefit
At the same time. If house proposal 831 goes through , I would lose my spousal benefit. Do u think I should cancel our applications and
Wait till I am 70 or just take a chance. I have
No immediate need and am trying to
Maximize payout. Assume either way
If something happens to me she would
Be eligible for my payout. Thanks for whatever
You can tell me. Joe

Hi Joe,

I'm not sure what house proposal you're referring to, but Congress already passed a bill in 2015 that contained a section 831 that eliminated the option of filing for spousal benefits only at full retirement age (FRA) or later for people who were born after January 1 1954 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/claiming.html?intcmp=AE-RET-PLRT-REL...). But, that bill grandfathered people born prior to January 2 1954, so it apparently won't affect your plans.

I can't tell you whether or not you and your wife are choosing the best possible option for claiming your Social Security benefits without more information. However, since you were born prior to January 2 1954 and as long as your wife is drawing her own retirement benefits, you can file just for spousal benefits only at FRA or later while allowing your own benefit rate to grow until age 70. You and your wife may want to consider using our maximization software in order to make sure that you're choosing the best possible filing strategy.

Best, Jerry