I will be 63 & 3 months in April 2018 and my husband will be FRA of 66 then. Our plan is for me to apply for SS benefit and my husband to apply for spousal benefit until he turns 70, at which point he will file for his own benefit. We've been reading about the grandfather rules and are confused if this strategy of ours will be acceptable to the SS office. Specifically, we know he is grandfathered in, but do I also have to have been 62 before April 2016 to execute this plan? Thanks very much!

Hi,

I work full-time and have been receiving my widow's benefit for a number of years at reduced amount. I will be 65 in September. First question: May I retire in September and receive my deceased husband's Social Security benefit but keep working without the earnings test reducing my benefit amount? Second question: Can I then switch to my own Social Security benefit amount (which will be higher) when I retire from my job at 66-1/2?

Hi,

Would it be prudent for my husband who is at his full retirement age and working full time draw either my social security or his own, whichever is best and save most of that money for thevnext four years or so, or wait and not collect on his or mine until he is age 70, when he is more likely to stop Working? Not sure if he would make up for the years he does not collect. I am 61, so 5 years younger. We are great savers and still contribute the Max to our Roths, etc. Thx much for insight.

Hi,

I will turn 66 on 6/11/2017 and my wife turns 66 on 6/24/2018. We both plan to file and suspend at 66 in order to reap the 8%/year bonus until we reach 70.

After I turn 66, may I "file and restrict" to receive spousal benefits from my wife's account, or must I wait to file for spousal benefits until she files and suspends at 66.

If, when my wife turns 66, I am receiving spousal benefits, can she also file and restrict to receive spousal benefits from my account?

My husband visited the SS office this morning. He turns 64 in June, 2017. Using your tool, we determined that the right strategy for us, was a start, stop, start method. We have kids under 18 also. The question is this. The folks at SS insisted that start stop start is no longer an option (I guess since 2015 changes) and no one is allowed to do this. We partly anticipated that from others on this Q&A page, so he even brought in an FAQ from the SSA site that indicated you were allowed to do this. They insisted (this was a supervisor), that is not allowed.

I'm 60yo & still working. I may work for another 2-5 years. My ex-husband of 15 years just died at age 68. He was collecting social security at full age of 66. I found out that I'm able to collect on his SS now, but is that wise? He was a VP & made more money than I do so I'm sure his SS is higher than mine will be. So questions are:
-should I collect his SS now while I'm working? or wait until I retire?
-should I wait until I'm 66 to collect on his & then switch to mine at 70?

I am 65(4-5-52) and my wife is 61(11-12-55). I am not collecting SS. We can wait to start receiving our benefits. My question is would it be best for her to file at 62 then for me to file a restricted application at 66. My understanding is that I can receive half of her FRA amount until I am 70 then switch to mine. What are the pros and cons? Thanks, Mike

Hi,

I currently receive an pension from my deceased spouse. It DOES NOT come from the Federal Government. My spouse was medically retired from his employer and I recieve his benefits from there. Would I still be able to collect widows benefits from SS at age 60 under his plan and then collect my full benefit at age 70?

Hi,

my wife will retire and claim S S at age 63 in sept 2017 her benefit app 1000 can I claim 1/2 her benefit until I claim my full benefit at age 70 in 2022

Hi,

Yes, since you were apparently born before January 2 1954, you could claim spousal benefits only when you reach age 66, and allow your own benefit rate to grow until age 70. This is likely the best strategy in your case, however, you may want to consider running the maximization software available on this website in order to be sure.

Best, Jerry

My husband turned 66 in February and has since started receiving his Social Security benefit. He is still working and hopes to be able to for a few more years. I am fixing to turn 64 and have not worked for about 5 1/2 years but would like to go back to work soon. We are thinking it would be good for me to begin working part-time, hopefully at home, then eventually go back to working full-time. I hope to be able to work a few more years also. We are trying to decide if it would be better for me to start receiving Social Security now or better to wait.