You mentioned your FRA benefit would be $2400 and your husband's is $3200. Honestly with those numbers, you probably want to focus on maximizing your own benefit rather than spousal benefits anyway. If you took spousal at your FRA, you'd get $1600 (half of his). If you took it early at 62, you'd get even less - around $1120. That's a lot less than your own benefit even with early filing reductions. Have you considered when you actually need the income? If you can wait until 70, your $2400 FRA benefit becomes around $3000/month. That's the permanent value of delaying.

One more thing to consider: survivor benefits. If either of you passes away, the surviving spouse gets to keep the higher of the two benefit amounts. If you expect your husband to have a longer life expectancy, then maximizing your benefit might not be as important. But if you think you might outlive him, having him maximize his benefit by waiting until 70 could provide you with a larger survivor benefit later. Running the numbers with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security claiming strategies might be worthwhile given your benefit amounts.

I just wanted to thank everyone for all this helpful information! I feel much better knowing I probably won't owe taxes on my benefits. I'm also going to look into that disability freeze option that was mentioned, and maybe reconsider applying for disability benefits with better medical documentation. I appreciate all the advice!

my aunt had to pay taxes on her SS and she only made like 30k total so it really depends on ur other income. its so confusing!!!

BEWARE about those survivor benefits - they don't tell you this but if you remarry before age 60 you LOSE THEM ALL!!!! My friend lost $175,000 in benefits because she remarried at 59 and they never warned her! The whole system is rigged against us.

Update: I found the W-4V form online and filled it out. I opted for 10% withholding to start. I was nervous about mailing such an important document, so I made an appointment at my local office (earliest was 3 weeks out) to drop it off in person. Thank you everyone for your helpful advice - especially about the earnings limit. I'm going to carefully track my consulting income this year to make sure I don't go too far over the limit.

Smart approach! One more thing to consider in your decision: If you're still working and plan to continue past age 65, option #3 (waiting until FRA) might be best because you avoid the earnings limit completely. But if you're not working or earning under the threshold, then comparing the actual benefit amounts for options 1 and 2 makes the most sense. And remember that spousal benefits don't earn delayed retirement credits past FRA, so there's no advantage to waiting beyond your FRA of 67.

make sure u ask them about medicare too! you should still sign up for that at 65 even if you delay SS benefits otherwise theres a penalty

my cousin had hep c too and got it treated thank goodness! but he never thought about disability either, it's rough but he got through it too. glad your husband is doing better now!

One thing worth noting: If your husband's current benefit is lower than what you're entitled to as a spouse (potentially up to 50% of his full retirement age benefit), you might want to look into spousal benefits when you reach eligibility age. This could help maximize your household's total Social Security income, even if the disability option isn't available.