My full retirement age is August, 2021, however I am being disabled by medical doctor due long standing lower back problems. It was our intent for my husband, who is already retired, to draw off of my earnings when I retired. Should I just take early retirement now, which will cost us ~$500/month or go ahead with disability and then have him draw off my social security when it would be eligible for him to draw off? When will he be eligible to draw off my social security if I elect disability? Thank you so much for your help.

Hi,

Assuming that your husband was born prior to January 2 1954, he could potentially file a restricted claim for just spousal benefits only effective with the later of a) your first month of entitlement to either Social Security retirement or disability benefits, or b) the month that your husband reaches full retirement age (FRA). If your husband was born after January 1 1954, however, he couldn't file just for spousal benefits without also being required to file for his own Social Security retirement benefits.

You'd probably be better off claiming Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits if you can qualify, since those benefit are unreduced even if you start drawing them prior to FRA. However, there is a 5 month waiting period for SSDI, so you might not be able to start drawing those benefits as early as you could your reduced Social Security retirement benefits.

Since I don't know your husband's birthdate nor your and your husband's potential benefit rates, I can't really give any filing advice. It sounds like you and your husband should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully explore and compare all of your various options so that you can determine the best plan for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry