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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.
It allows one spouse who is age 66 or older to file for Social Security so that the other spouse can start collecting spousal benefits, but then the first spouse immediately suspends his or her own benefit and waits to activate it later, when it's worth more.