Thank you. Your comments are giving me pause for thought. I make over mid five figures, so would have to pay back if I took early. Therefore, I am abandoning the plan to tap into my SS early. I could, OTOH, have H take his benefits and use that money to increase my 401k/Roth contributions. H is self-employed and it would be relatively easy to limit his income to the amount that would not trigger the payback provisions just by having him take on fewer clients each year. He’s already earned a little bit more than the limit this year, so I wouldn’t do it before next year (when he will be 63). His SS benefit is much lower than mine so I would have to make sure that he could transfer to a spousal benefit when I turn 65 with no problems or penalties.
Check your SS statement. FRA for you is probably age 66, not 65. Depends on year of birth. And the rules were changed a couple of years ago to prevent the double-dipping between spouses. I don’t remember the details, just that I was born a month too late and lost the ability to claim on my ex’s SS while letting my own benefit grow to age 70.
For me, it’s 66 and 10 months, while it’s 66 and 4 for H to reach FRA. I need to really think about our options, but I am not looking to retire in less than 5 years or so.
I was born in 1954, so for me it’s 66 even. Assuming that my income holds steady, I don’t think I will take retirement before age 67 & I’d be inclined to hold out until age 70. Rising interest rates might change my perspective somewhat.