At 64, Should You Claim Spousal Social Security Benefits Now?
A 64-year-old woman weighs spousal Social Security benefits against waiting for her own. Here's what experts say.
A 64-year-old woman whose husband is 70 is wrestling with one of the most consequential decisions in retirement planning: whether to claim spousal Social Security benefits now or hold out for her own larger benefit down the road. The concern driving her question is a familiar one — the fear of leaving money on the table by waiting too long.
Spousal benefits allow a qualifying spouse to collect up to 50% of the other spouse's full retirement benefit. However, claiming before your own full retirement age reduces that amount permanently, meaning the timing of the claim carries long-term financial consequences that can stretch across decades of retirement.
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For someone like this woman, who reports having paid a significant amount into Social Security over her working life, the calculus becomes more complex. Her own earned benefit could ultimately exceed the spousal benefit — but only if she delays claiming long enough for that benefit to grow. Every year she waits past 62 and up to age 70, her personal benefit increases, potentially overtaking what she'd receive as a spouse.
Financial planners generally advise running a break-even analysis that accounts for life expectancy, current income needs, and whether the higher-earning spouse has already claimed. In this couple's case, with the husband already 70 and presumably collecting, the wife must weigh the immediate income from spousal benefits against the compounding growth of her own delayed benefit over the next six years.
The decision is rarely one-size-fits-all — health status, household cash flow, and tax implications all factor in. Consulting a fee-only financial advisor or using Social Security's official online tools can help model the best strategy for a specific situation. Continue reading at MarketWatch.com
