I turned 70 1/3/21. My spouse turned 66 summer of '20 and started taking her SS workers benefit. I contributed to an HSA thru 2020 and so need to wait until 7/1/21 to begin taking SS benefits b/c Medicare starts 6 mos before enrollment in order to finish 2020 contributions to my HSA. To get my max due benefit, can I file a restricted appl. for spousal benefits only on 7/1 get 6 mos retroactive spousal pymts - and then apply for my benefits (a week or two later?) and get 6 mos retroactive payments of mine? I have received two opposite responses when from different SS employees. Thank you.

Hi. You can't be paid both your own benefit and a full spousal benefit for the same month(s). That's true even if you're claiming retroactive benefits. Thus, if you apply for benefits in July 2021 you could only be paid the higher of your own benefit rate or your spousal benefit rate for the retroactive months January through June of 2021.

You could in theory file a restricted application for spousal benefits on July 1st claiming spousal benefits retroactively to January, and then file for your own benefits retroactive to January later in the same month. However, assuming that your own benefit rate is higher than your spousal rate, Social Security would just subtract any spousal benefits you received from the back pay due on your own account. The net result is that you'd end up only being paid the higher of the 2 benefit rates for the retroactive months.

Best, Jerry