Can my wife switch to my Social Security benefits if she’s born after 1954? I receive a lot more than she does.

Social Security spousal benefits are a critical component of retirement planning, particularly when one spouse has significantly lower earnings. For individuals born after January 1, 1954, a key rule known as 'deemed filing' governs how these benefits can be claimed. This regulation means that when you apply for any Social Security benefit (retirement, spousal, or divorced spousal), you are effectively applying for all benefits for which you are eligible. This rule prevents a strategy once popular with couples: a lower-earning spouse could claim only their spousal benefit (up to 50% of the higher earner's full retirement age benefit) while allowing their own retirement benefit to continue growing. For those born after the 1954 cutoff, this is no longer an option. If your wife claims spousal benefits, she will automatically be deemed to have filed for her own retirement benefit simultaneously, and she will receive the higher of the two amounts. This is particularly relevant if her own Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) is less than half of yourPIA. Investors must understand that the maximum spousal benefit is 50% of the higher earner's full retirement age (FRA) amount. If your wife's own retirement benefit, based on her work record, is less than this 50% threshold, she will receive her own benefit plus a 'spousal top-up' to reach the 50% mark. However, she cannot collect only the spousal benefit while delaying her own to earn delayed retirement credits. Therefore, careful consideration of claiming ages for both spouses remains paramount to maximizing combined lifetime