Can my older husband claim 50% of my Social Security at FRA while delaying his own benefits until 70?

Unfortunately, your friend at church is misinformed. The strategy you're describing (called "file and restrict" or sometimes "restricted application") is no longer available for most people due to the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. To be eligible for that strategy, your husband would need to have been born before January 2, 1954. Since your husband was born after that date (he'd be 67 now, so born around 1958), he can't file for only spousal benefits while letting his own benefit grow. When he files for any benefit now, he'll be deemed to be filing for all benefits he's eligible for, and will receive whichever is higher - his own or the spousal benefit (which is unlikely to be higher).

This is WRONG advice!! My brother in law is doing EXACTLY what ur husband wants to do RIGHT NOW. He gets half his wife's check and is waiting til 70 for his own bigger check. SSA allowed it no problem!!! Go in person to ur local offic and ask for this specificly.

The first response is correct. The "file and restrict" strategy was eliminated for people born on or after January 2, 1954. Since your husband is 67 now in 2025, he was born around 1957-1958, which means he cannot use this strategy. He has two options: 1. Continue waiting until 70 to maximize his own benefit (which grows by 8% per year after FRA) 2. File now for his own benefit, but this would mean giving up those delayed retirement credits If his benefit at FRA is significantly higher than yours, and you both have normal life expectancies, waiting until 70 is often the mathematically optimal choice, especially since his higher benefit would become your survivor benefit if he passes away before you.

my sister had the same question last year and spend 3 WEEKS trying to get someone on the phone at SSA!!! kept getting busy signals and disconnected. complete nightmare.

I'm in almost the exact same situation except I'm the husband! Born in 1958, and wanted to do what you're describing. When I went to the SSA office in person, they confirmed what others are saying here - those of us born after Jan 1, 1954 can't do the restricted application anymore. It stinks because my friend who's just 4 years older could do it, but we miss out. The government keeps changing the rules on us!!

One important consideration: while your husband can't get spousal benefits while delaying his own, you should evaluate whether waiting to 70 is truly optimal in your specific situation. Factors to consider: 1. Health status and family longevity 2. Your need for income now vs. later 3. Other retirement assets you can draw from during the delay period 4. Tax implications of different claiming strategies For many couples, having the higher earner wait until 70 is mathematically optimal because: - It maximizes the higher benefit amount - It maximizes the survivor benefit (when one spouse dies, the surviving spouse keeps the higher of the two benefits) However, this isn't universally true for everyone's situation.

Dont listen to all these "experts"!!! call SSA yourself...my neighbor thought she couldn't get something but then she called and actually qualified! the rules are super complicated and everybody's situation is different

I remember when they changed this rule in 2015...it was part of that budget bill thing. Caught a lot of us off guard who were planning this exact strategy! I missed the cutoff by 9 months and it cost me thousands. So frustrating.

wait wait wait i think you guys are cofusing SSA rules. isnt there still something he can do with a 'deemed filing' exception? My friend did something like that recently. Maybe ask about that specificaly?

Thank you all for your helpful responses! It seems clear now that my husband can't collect on my record while delaying his own benefits since he was born after January 1954. We'll stick with our plan to have him wait until 70 to maximize his benefit (and my potential survivor benefit). I appreciate everyone taking the time to explain this - Social Security rules can be so confusing!