In June 2016 I will be turning 66. I am single and have worked as a public school teacher for 6 years. I have worked most of the rest of my career self-employed as an educator. I would like to know if I can still 'FILE AND SUSPEND' my SS Benefits when I turn 66. Is it still possible? (I understand the last date to be able to do this was April 30, 2016). I am hoping to be able to work until I am 70, however, should something come up and I cannot work, I thought this option would be a prudent choice. Please let me know if this is still a possibility for me? THANK YOU, Darlene

Dear Darlene,

You can still file and suspend this June, but it won't help you and could hurt you if you are married or are divorced after having been married for 10 plus years. Filing for and suspending your retirement benefit after the April 29, 2016 deadline means you can't provide a spouse or a young or disabled child benefits on your work record while your benefits are in suspension. Nor can you take your suspended benefits in a lump sum if you decide to do so at some point before 70. That option was also eliminated by the new law. If you are married or divorced after a ten plus year marriage and you a) file and suspend and b) have your husband or ex pass, you will lose the option to take just your full widows or divorced widows benefit while letting your own benefit rise through age 70. Instead, you'll just get your excess widows benefit, while could be very much smaller. I think you should just wait till 70 to collect your retirement benefit, but I don't know your total situation. If you run our $40 program sold here on our site it will show you the best strategy for maximizing your lifetime benefits. And you can also see how much you lose in lifetime benefits from taking your benefits at, say, 68, versus 70.

best, Larry