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A. You can. Social Security will accept your application for early benefits when you're 61 years 9 months. Regardless of how old you are, the agency generally recommends that you apply three months before you would like the first payment to arrive.
That means an individual may want to wait until age 70 to begin drawing Social Security retirement benefits to receive the largest monthly amount possible. However, for a married couple, spousal benefits are only available once a Social Security claim has been filed. You can only file and suspend your benefits when you reach your full retirement age. Once you have filed and suspended, your spouse can claim spousal benefits at any time once he or she reach age 62.