My wife and I are grandfathered under the previous Social Security law. Following the advice of your Get What's Yours book and software, my wife filed and suspended in April 2016 shortly after she reached her full retirement age and will begin claiming her benefits on reaching age 70. I reach my FRA in April 2018 and am trying to determine when I should file the restricted application for my spousal benefit. Social Security advises to file for benefits three months in advance, but also says that for those of us who turned "62 before January 2, 2016, deemed filing rules will not apply if you file at full retirement age or later," which at least suggests that filing any application, even a restricted one, prior to the day I reach FRA would make me subject to the deeming rules and result in receiving benefits on my own record rather than my spousal benefit.

So my question is, should I file the restricted application in the three months prior to reaching FRA, or wait until my birthday which might result in a delay in starting payments?

Thank you.

Hi,

It really doesn't matter whether you file now or after your birthday. The important thing is that when you file your application, you'll want to choose the month in which you will reach your full retirement age of 66 as your month of election to start your entitlement to spousal benefits. So, if you reach FRA in April 2018, you should choose that as your month of election to begin your spousal benefits.

Also, you'll want to be sure to restrict retirement benefits from the scope of your application. If you file online, you can do so by answering 'yes' to the question that asks 'If you are eligible for both retirement benefits and spouse's benefits, do you want to delay receipt of retirement benefits'. If you file by phone or in person, tell the Social Security representative that takes your claim to restrict your application to spousal benefits only, and then review your copy of the application to be sure that was done.

Best, Jerry