I am 64 born 9/1952, divorced and never remarried and have never filed for social security benefits. My ex husband & I were married 26 years. He is 68 born 9/1949 and began collecting early SS retirement benefits at 62. I need major surgery that will keep me out of work for several months then hopefully be able to work again until age 70. I want to know if under the new Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 I can file and collect divorced spousal benefit this year (before my FRA of 66) and delay my own benefits until age 70. Or under the new rules will I be deemed to have begun my own benefits?
todays date is 4/25/2017

Hi,

No, if you file for divorced spousal benefits prior to full retirement age, which is 66 in your case, you will be deemed to also be filing for reduced retirement benefits on your own record. That was true under the old deemed filing rules as well as those passed by Congress in 2015.

You could, however, file just for divorced spousal benefits at age 66 and allow your own benefit rate to grow until age 70. You still have this option under the new deemed filing rules because you were born before January 2 1954 (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html). You may want to consider using the maximization software available on this website in order to make sure that you choose the best possible filing strategy.

Best, Jerry