Ask Larry

If I am receiving SS disability benefits and am 54 can my husband collect spousal benefits he is going to retire and is 65 and should he wait until he is 70 to collect his social security and will that increase my benefits at that time.

Hi,

Possibly, yes. And, if your husband was born prior to January 2 1954, it may be optimal for him to file for spousal benefits only on your record when he reaches age 66, then switch to his own record at age 70. However, in some cases no auxiliary (e.g. spousal) benefits are payable on the records of people receiving disability benefits. This is due to an alternate method of computing the maximum family benefit amount payable on disability records (https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/dibfamilymax.html). In any case, though, your husband could not file just for spousal benefits on your record prior to his full retirement age without also filing for his own retirement benefits.

Your husband's best filing strategy depends on your and his relative benefit rates as well as his date of birth, so he may want to strongly consider running the maximization software available on this website in order to determine his best option.

Best, Jerry