Dear Larry,

I applied for the spouse's benefit monthly payment in June 2017 .
The effective date of my benefit is November 2017(the month I reach my full retirement age).
I do not have any earning during the months June-October.
I chose November as the effective month because I was told the special rule of earning of the first year of retirement can't be used for the spouse's benefit. Is that true ?
Now I am reading the booklet I received from Social security Administration along with the Notice of Award , I do not see any statement that indicates that the special rule of the first year can't be applied for the spouse's benefit .
Can I submit a request for changing the effective month from November to June so I can get the monthly payments of June-October? Can I submit this request via mail?

Thank you very much

Hana

Hi Hana,

The special monthly earnings test rule (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/rule.html) applies to spousal benefits just the same as it does to retirement benefits. However, you should be aware that if you file for spousal benefits effective with any month prior to the month you attain full retirement age (FRA) you will be deemed to have also filed for retirement benefits on your own record. So, if your plan is to file just for spousal benefits only at FRA and allow your own benefit rate to grow until age 70, you wouldn't want to change your application. You may want to strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website to make sure that you choose the best possible strategy.

If you don't care about restricting your application to spousal benefits only and you are sure that you would prefer to receive a reduced benefit rate for drawing before FRA, you can submit a signed request to Social Security to change your month of entitlement. You could submit such a request via mail, but I would recommend doing it in person if possible.

Best, Jerry