My wife will be retiring 11/30 this year at age 65 and will begin to draw social security benefits on 1/1/20. I fall into the grandfathered age group and can claim a restricted application on spousal benefits. My question is this, when should I apply for those benefits? Do I need to wait until my wife has actually received her first check or is anytime after she has applied for her social security benefits okay. Thank you.

Hi,

You could potentially apply for spousal benefits as early as the same day that your wife applies for her benefits. But, you can't elect to start drawing spousal benefits effective with any month prior to the month that you reach full retirement age (FRA) without being deemed to have also filed for your own Social Security retirement benefits. And, you can only file a restricted application for just spousal benefits only if you were born prior to January 2 1954.

Before filing, you and your wife should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to compare your various options in order to make sure that you're choosing your optimal strategy for claiming your benefits.

Best, Jerry