Hello again,
It's now 2018 and I was curious whether there has been any clarification by SSA on the issue that I raised previously regarding "Can I Stay On Child-In-Care Benefits Until Age 70?" (see below). If not, any advice on what I should do is much appreciated.
Many thanks for your response.

Category:
New Law
Aug 4 2016 - 6:30pm
Our son is a disabled adult now collecting a Disabled Adult Child (DAC) benefit based on my wife's earnings history. She was born in June 1950 and started her Social Security retirement benefit early just after she turned 62.

I was born in April 1954 and I am collecting a child-in-care spousal benefit based on my wife's benefit which I began collecting when she filed for her retirement benefit, even though I was under age 62.
My PIA will be about twice as high as my wife's benefit and our plan before the law changes was for me to defer my retirement benefit until age 70 since I would be able to continue getting my child-in care spousal benefit until then without triggering deeming.

Does this strategy still work after the recent law changes or will I be deemed to have selected my retirement benefit when I reached age 62 in April 2016 or at FRA at age 66?

I have not heard anything from the SSA nor have I read anything that leads me to believe that the deeming rules changed in our situation. Am I correct?
Since my wife started her benefit just after 62, I figure that my deferring to age 70 makes sense if I can continue collecting my child-in-care spousal benefit until then. Does this make sense?

Thank you.

Hi,

The only update to Social Security's operations manual pertinent to your question that I've seen is item B.2.a. of the following section: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204035#b2.

We are interpreting the information in the second bullet to mean that you won't be deemed to have filed for your retirement benefits as long as you continue to qualify for child in care benefits. So, it sounds like waiting until age 70 to apply for your retirement benefits is still an available option for you provided that you continue to have a qualifying child in your care until that time.

Best, Jerry