Defer your Social Security benefits [...] you assumed (or maybe the writer included the information but it was not in the printed question) that her Social Security benefits would be less than her husband's, and therefore she should start taking her own benefits right away. [...] from my understanding of the rules, if he dies before I reach age 70, I could get survivor benefits while still deferring taking my own at a higher rate at 70. If we use the life expectancy calculator on the Social Security website and assume that you were born on Jan.