I applied for retirement benefits on my ex-spouse’s record in Jan, 2020, I turned 70 in Feb, 2020. I applied on her record as it would yield me a little more of a monthly benefit. I also received a six month lump sum retroactive payment going back to July, 2019. I was happy of course but also annoyed with myself for not applying earlier, as my ex-spouse turned 62 in Sept, 2018. Now I’ve read in a book called, Social Security 101, by Alfred Mill, (published 2016) the following on page 142:
“If you were born on or before April 30, 1950, you can claim the retroactive lump-sum benefit and (very significantly) you can make it retroactive to any point after you reached your full retirement age. If you were born after April 30, 1950, you can still take the lump-sum benefit, but you can only make it retroactive to six months before you file.”
Is this correct? Since I was born in Feb, 1950, can I appeal the decision to award me a six month retroactive lump sum payment on my ex’s record, and request they go back ten more months to Sept, 2018 when my ex turned 62? Thanks!

Hi,

You can file an appeal, but 6 months is the maximum amount of retroactivity allowed for applications filed after a person's full retirement age (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204030). If you filed your application in January 2020 and unless you established an earlier protective filing date, then it sounds like you were paid for the maximum number of retroactive months allowed.

I can't say positively, but I imagine that the book reference you quoted alludes to the rules for requesting a lump sum payment of benefits that were withheld because a person voluntarily suspended their benefits. People who filed for their own Social Security retirement benefits and who requested voluntarily suspension of those benefits prior to April 30 2016 can later request to reinstate their suspended benefits for any or all of the months of the period of suspension (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0202409130).

In the case of a retroactive reinstatement of voluntarily suspended benefits, the person's application for benefits would actually had to have been filed before April 30 2016. If they also voluntarily suspended their benefits prior to that date but they later change their mind and request to have those benefits reinstated retroactively, the resulting lump sum is a payment of benefits that were withheld AFTER the person's application was filed. That's totally different than the rules regarding the payment of benefits for months PRIOR TO the month in which a person applies for benefits.

Best, Jerry