$300,000. That is how much the wrong decision can cost your family. Coordinate optimal timing for you and your spouse with 62or70.
For married couples, Social Security isn't two separate decisions — it's one household strategy. Spousal benefits, survivor benefits, and the interplay of two claiming ages create a matrix of outcomes that most people never explore.
In many cases, having the higher earner delay to 70 while the lower earner claims early provides the best of both worlds: income now plus a maximized survivor benefit later. But this isn't always true — it depends on your ages, benefit amounts, and health outlook.
Couples who coordinate claiming ages can capture significantly more lifetime benefits than those who decide independently.
The higher earner's claiming age directly determines the survivor benefit — often the most important factor for the surviving spouse's financial security.
Age gaps, earnings differences, and health all affect the optimal strategy. There is no universal "right answer" — you need to model your specific situation.
Back to Claiming Strategies