Filing for Social Security is often a much easier thing to do when you're single compared to when you're married. When you're single, you have to think about your own needs and goals only in the course of considering your filing options. When you're married, you have to think about how your filing might affect your spouse's finances -- both while you're alive and after you pass.
Now there are different Social Security filing strategies you can play around with. You could claim benefits early to get your money sooner and use it to help you and your spouse enjoy an earlier retirement. You could file on time -- at your full retirement age -- to avoid a reduction in benefits. Or you could delay your Social Security filing past full retirement age to score the highest monthly payday possible.
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Once you turn 70, there's no longer any sense in delaying Social Security, because your monthly benefits can't grow larger beyond that point. But you may want to consider filing for Social Security at age 70 if you're much older than your spouse for one big reason.
When you want to leave your spouse with a nice income stream
Without a crystal ball, there's no way to predict how long you or your spouse will live. But if you're a lot older, you may be expecting your spouse to outlive you. And in that case, claiming Social Security at age 70 could be the best thing you might do for your loved one.
The reason? Once you pass away, your spouse will be entitled to survivor's benefits from Social Security. And in that case, your spouse will be eligible for the same monthly benefit you collected while you were alive. So the higher that benefit is, the more income you're able to leave behind for your spouse.
If you claim Social Security at age 70, you're leaving your spouse with the highest possible monthly payday. And if you and your spouse don't have a lot of combined savings or other valuable assets, then delaying your own Social Security filing until age 70 could spell the difference between leaving your spouse to struggle financially in your absence or not.
Talk things through either way
Your goal may be to take care of your spouse financially both while you're alive and even once you aren't. And a big part of that could mean utilizing the right Social Security filing strategy.
That said, before you decide to delay Social Security until your 70th birthday, talk things through and see what your spouse thinks. Your loved one might prefer that you claim your benefits sooner so you can enjoy more time in retirement together. Your spouse also may have other ideas for generating income once you're gone that will take some of the pressure off.
It's a nice thing to want to do everything you can to protect your spouse financially. But getting your loved one's input on your Social Security filing is really just as important.
