Nov. 5, 2007 issue

Most older workers are used to being told that they should wait as long as possible to claim Social Security benefits—the longer they delay, the bigger their benefits will be. And the longer they expect to live, the more benefits they’ll get from the delayed bigger benefits. That means that women, who, on average, live longer than men, should wait.

But here’s a new twist, from Boston College’s Center for Retirement Research: most married couples can maximize their benefits if the wife takes early retirement and starts her benefits at 62, and the husband waits until at least 66 to start his. Here’s why: in most families, the husband earns more and has a lower life expectancy. When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse can opt to keep his or her own benefits or instead take over the benefits of the deceased. So, a woman can start her own early, lower benefit stream that will be in effect only until her husband dies. He, in turn, can work longer and maximize his benefits, and then his wife can “inherit” his bigger benefits.

It’s a strategy that doesn’t work when both spouses earn similar amounts or where the wife outearns her husband. And it only makes sense if the wife wants to retire early and the husband wants to work longer, says Alicia Munnell, the study’s lead author. She’s not rushing to claim her own benefits any time soon. “There’s more to life than that,” she says.

—Linda Stern