Hi, My wife and I read your various columns, thought we understood and scheduled an appointment with the local Social Security office to initiate File and Suspend for her plus Spousal Benefits for me, as a representative told us we could do in agreement with your advice. (By way of factual background, our appointment took place when my wife was already over 65, and I was just a few months short of this birthday. Her projected benefit will be greater than mine because of more years paying into Social Security, while I worked for a state government and will have some reduction in Social Security payments due to the other pension.) In any case, when we got to the appointment we were told quite firmly that you and the other Social Security representative were mistaken, and that we could not follow this plan uless we were BOTH over 65 as of May 1 of this year. In place of this plan, we were advised that I was close enough to age 65 to file for my regular benefit as of my upcoming birthday (and freezing it at the current level without future delayed benefit increases), and that my wife could start collecting a Spousal Benefit on the basis of mine at this time. We did so and have begun to receive my regular benefit (now frozen without future delayed increases) plus her spousal benefit based on my current one (her future regular benefit is still increasing due to delayed collection.) If you still believe that we were misinformed and possibly misled into accepting a less beneficial arrangement, how do we go about seeking reconsdieration and redress? Can you ao another knowledgeable practitioner explain our situation to the SSA better than we could ourselves, can you furnish something authoritative that we can show the SSA, etc.? What is your advice onhow to proceed at this time? Thanks, Charlie

Charlie, first, your full retirement ages (FRAs) are 66, not 65. In order for you to collect a spousal benefit on your wife's record after she filed for and suspended her retirement benefit, your wife would have had to suspend under the old rules, which she could only have done on or before April 29 2016 and she could only have done this if she was born on or before May 1 1950. If your wife was born after this date, your proposed strategy is not possible because she could not have suspended in time to do so under the old rules. Since you were born before January 2 1954, you could file just for your spousal benefit at your FRA while delaying filing for your retirement benefit until 70 as long as your wife suspended by April 29 2016. Thanks, John