Strategies for maximizing Social Security spousal benefits
For every single year you wait to start your Social Security benefits after reaching full retirement age, you will benefit from an 8% increase in the benefit amount.
This increase can continue until you reach 70 years old, but truth be told, there’s really no advantage to waiting until you reach that age. Before, couples were able to claim spousal benefits while also allowing retirement benefits to grow until 70 years, with two strategies known as “restricted applications” and “file and suspend”.
However, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 deleted these options. Now, when you apply for Social Security, you have to file for all the benefits you’re entitled to.
This might not sound like a big deal, except it is, because you can no longer choose which benefits to tap into and which to postpone.
