My wife wants to switch from restricted benefits from my social security to her personal one. She is 69. How do we do it? There is no way on her account to do it because she says she is receiving benefits from me yet her contributions are on there. SS office is closed and I can't get person. On the phone.

Hi,

I'm not sure if it would be possible for your wife to apply for her own Social Security retirement benefits online. Social Security's (SSA.gov) website claims that they are constantly expanding their online services, so your wife may want to try to file an application online if she hasn't already done so. The SSA website indicates that it's possible to file online as long as you aren't already receiving benefits on your own Social Security record, so if your wife is receiving only spousal benefits then maybe she could use the online filing process (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/).

If online filing doesn't work for some reason, then there's currently not much of an alternative to contacting Social Security by phone. Local offices are currently closed to the public due to the coronavirus. If she can't get through to Social Security by phone and she's concerned about protecting her filing date, she could mail a signed statement to her nearest Social Security office expressing her intention to apply for her own benefits (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204010#b).

Your wife could even complete and submit a printed form SSA-1-bk (https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-1-bk.pdf) if she wants to, although I wouldn't recommend doing that except as a last resort. Social Security no longer uses paper application forms, so they would still need to interview your wife in order to complete the application process.

Just so you know, Social Security applications filed after a person reaches full retirement age (FRA) can be retroactive for up to 6 months. Therefore, if your wife wants to claim her own benefits effective at age 70, she could apply up to 6 months after the month she reaches age 70 without suffering any loss of benefits. Before applying, though, your wife may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to make sure she chooses the best possible strategy for maximizing her benefits.

Best, Jerry