You responded to Sally, regarding her ex-spousal SSN benefits denied claim at 66 while waiting to 70 to claim her own stating: ... regarding What Sally in the above example should have done is simply file for spousal benefits only instead of also filing for and suspending her own benefits. I'm not sure that is true. I've read the opposite! I've read that if you just apply for ex-spousal benefits without suspending your own that SSN will activate both at the same time lowering her lifetime benefit.

Hi,

Apparently what you read elsewhere was incorrect. If you file for and suspend your own Social Security retirement benefits, you can't then collect spousal benefits while your own benefits are suspended (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/suspendfaq.html).

However, people born before January 2 1954 are allowed to claim spousal benefits only at full retirement age (FRA) or later without being deemed to also be filing for their own Social Security retirement benefits. To do so they need to restrict their application to spousal benefits only by excluding retirement benefits from the scope of their application. They can then wait until age 70 to apply for their retirement benefits, allowing their benefit rate to increase by 8% per year.

People born after January 1 1954 are no longer permitted to file for spousal benefits at any age without also being deemed to have filed for their own retirement benefits at the same time (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/deemedfaq.html).

Best, Jerry