Dear Liz: My husband is 13 years older than I. Unfortunately, when he went in to sign up for Medicare several years ago, the clerk talked him into taking his Social Security as well since he had reached full retirement age. Now I am wondering when to take mine. My benefit at full retirement age would be more than half of his but less than his full amount. Considering that there is a fair chance I will outlive him, what should I do about claiming? We are supporting an elderly relative and the expenses are fairly high. Other than that we are well off.
Answer: As you probably know, it’s the higher earner’s benefit that determines what the survivor ultimately gets. By starting at his full retirement age, your husband missed out on several years of delayed retirement credits that could have boosted both benefits by up to 32%.
There’s nothing you can do about that now, but you can be careful to maximize your own benefit. That means waiting at least until full retirement age to apply. Delaying until age 70, when your benefit maxes out, makes sense for most people, but consider using a claiming strategy tool such as Maximize My Social Security or T. Rowe Price’s Social Security Optimizer.
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