Can my husband claim Social Security spousal benefits for 5 months before switching to his own at age 70?

Unfortunately that won't work the way you're hoping. Due to the deemed filing rules that went into effect in 2016, your husband can't just take spousal benefits without also filing for his own benefits at the same time. If he files for spousal benefits before 70, he'll be forced to take his own benefits too, which would permanently reduce them from the maximum amount.

The previous commenter is correct. The option to file a "restricted application" for just spousal benefits was eliminated for anyone born after January 1, 1954. Since you and your husband were born after that date (turning 70 in 2025), the deemed filing rule applies. This means if your husband files for ANY benefit before age 70, he'll automatically be deemed to have filed for ALL benefits he's eligible for - including his own retirement benefit - which would permanently reduce his payment. The only exception would be if your husband had already started receiving Social Security disability benefits or if he was caring for your child under 16 - neither of which seems to apply in your situation.

My sister tried 2 do something similar last year and it backfired BIG TIME!! She filed for spousal early thinking she could switch later and now her benefits are permanently lower. DON'T DO IT!!

If maximizing lifetime benefits is your goal, you're already on the right track by both waiting until 70. Those 5 months of potential spousal benefits wouldn't come close to making up for even a small reduction in your husband's maximum benefit over your expected lifetimes. One thing to consider: Have you confirmed which of you has the higher benefit? If your husband's benefit will be substantially higher than yours, and if either of you has health concerns, there might be different strategies to consider. The higher earner's benefit becomes the survivor benefit when one spouse passes away.

Have you actually TALKED to anyone at SSA about this??? I tried calling them for WEEKS about a similar question and could never get through. The website was useless for my specific situation too.

ppl on this forum always make things so complicated!!! just tell SSA you want the most money possible and they'll figure it out for you!!! thats what they get paid for!!!

Wait I'm confused about something... if the husband files for his own benefits at 70 in September, can he still get the spousal benefit too if it's higher? Or does he just get whichever is higher? SS is so confusing!!

Back to the original question - one thing no one mentioned is that if your husband filed for spousal benefits before 70, he wouldn't even get the full spousal amount because he'd be filing early for his spousal benefit. So not only would he permanently reduce his own benefit, but the spousal benefit for those 5 months would be reduced too. Double penalty!

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses! I think we have our answer - my husband should just wait until he turns 70 in September 2025 to file for his benefits and not try to get spousal benefits during those 5 months. It's disappointing that we can't take advantage of this small window, but I understand it's more important to maximize his lifetime benefit. I appreciate all the information!