Couple married in a shinto ceremony in Takayama, Gifu prefecture (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Note: with the passage of the Bipartisan Budget Bill of 2015 into law, File & Suspend and Restricted Application have been effectively eliminated for anyone born in 1954 or later. If born before 1954 there are some options still available, but these are limited as well. Please see the article The Death of File & Suspend and Restricted Application for more details.
In the wake of my post last week, Can Both Spouses File and Suspend?, I received multiple iterations of the same question, which is the topic of today’s post: Can Both Spouses File a Restricted Application for Spousal Benefits Only?
Unlike the original situation where technically it is possible to undertake but the results would not be optimal, in this situation it’s not technically possible. (The one exception is in the case of a divorced couple. For the details on how it works for divorcees, see this article: A Social Security Option Strictly for Divorced Folks.)
The way the restricted application for spousal benefits works is that there are three rules that must be met:
- You must be at or older than Full Retirement Age (FRA)
- Your spouse must have filed for his or her own retirement benefit – does not have to be actively receiving benefits, he or she could have filed and suspended
- You must not have filed for your own retirement benefit
As you can see, #2 & #3 cannot both be done by the same person in the couple. It is not possible to (#2) file for your own benefit, enabling your spouse to file a restricted application and (#3) not file for your own benefit, enabling you to file a restricted application.
Therefore, only one of the members of a currently-married couple can file a restricted application for spousal benefits.
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.
Thanks!
My husband is 70, I am 60. He filed for benefits at age 62. Two questions –
If I wait until my FRA at 66, I will receive my best-possible spousal benefit (it won’t get any larger) – true? Can I restrict the application for my spousal benefit on my husband’s account so as to let my own benefit amount continue to rise (8% annually?) until age 70 in the hope it might be larger? Thanks –
Yes, you have it exactly correct as you’ve described.