Social Security retirement timing dilemma - wait until 67 or 72 with younger spouse?

my husband is 6 yrs younger than me and i took mine at 65. wish i had waited longer!! the monthly increase you get for waiting past your FRA is big, like 8% per year i think. but def dont wait past 70 - theres no benefit after that!!

This is an important question that affects your lifetime income. First, maximum delayed retirement credits stop at age 70, not 72, so there's no benefit to waiting beyond 70. Second, you need to consider several factors: 1) Your health and family longevity 2) Your current savings and whether you need income now 3) The potential survivor benefit for your husband (he would get your full benefit amount if you die first) 4) The spousal benefit your husband might receive (up to 50% of your FRA benefit) With a younger spouse, delaying to 70 often makes mathematical sense because it increases both your lifetime benefit and potentially his survivor benefit, assuming average or better longevity. However, claiming at your FRA (67) is a reasonable compromise if you need the income sooner.

i was in kinda the same boat. Wife 6 yrs younger. I waited til 68 to file. that worked OK for us but everyones situation is different. The important thing is to look at both incomes and how you'll maximize over BOTH your lifetimes, not just yours.

Waiting until 70 (not 72) will give you the highest possible monthly benefit - about 77% higher than claiming at 62 and 24% higher than claiming at your FRA of 67. This increase benefits you for life AND potentially benefits your husband through survivor benefits if you pass away first. Important note: Spousal benefits are based on your FRA amount, NOT your age-70 increased amount. So waiting beyond FRA doesn't increase what your spouse gets as a spousal benefit. However, survivor benefits ARE based on your actual benefit amount including delayed retirement credits. With your 5-year age difference, if you have average or better longevity, financially optimizing often means you should wait until 70 to maximize your benefit while your husband claims his own benefit at his optimal time.

Just do what I did - go talk to SSA directly! I tried to figure this out online for WEEKS and just got more confused. I finally called them and explained my situation and they gave me a complete breakdown of my options with real numbers.

my friend told me a SECRET STRATEGY - have the lower earner spouse claim early & the higher earner wait as long as possible!!!! That way you get some SS income flowing while also maximizing the bigger benefit for later. Makes sense right?????

Thank you all for the informative responses! I've learned so much - especially that I should be thinking about maximizing to age 70, not 72. It sounds like the best approach is for me to wait until 70 since I'm the higher earner, which would maximize my benefit and potentially my husband's survivor benefit if I pass away first. Even though my waiting won't increase his spousal benefit (which I didn't realize), the overall household strategy seems to favor delaying. I'm going to look into working until at least 68 and reassess our savings at that point. The distinction between how spousal vs. survivor benefits work was the missing piece I needed!

One other factor to consider: if your husband has his own substantial work record, his spousal benefit might not even come into play. Spousal benefits are only paid if they're higher than the person's own retirement benefit. If he's been a good earner throughout his career, he might just collect on his own record anyway. Also worth noting - you mentioned saving more. If you're still working, you might consider putting more into retirement accounts rather than focusing solely on the Social Security timing question. Increasing your savings rate for the next few years could have a significant impact too.