Hi Larry —

I became eligible for SSDI in 2014 when I was 62. My wife began collecting her full benefit when she turned 66 in February of 2018 (both she and I were born in 1952). I turned 66 in May of 2018. I told Social Security that I wanted to delay my benefit until 70 and collect a spousal benefit of 1/2 of my wife’s benefit (as she was already receiving her benefit). SS denied my claim saying that I would have to pay back the 4 years of SSDI or $120,000 in order to receive a spousal benefit of $875/mo. Obviously that makes no economic sense. Are they correct??
Thanks! Ted

Hi Ted,

Unfortunately, the answer is yes. Social Security rewrote their rules at the end of 2014 in order to prevent people receiving Social Security disability (SSDI) from filing for spousal benefits only at full retirement age (FRA) while letting their own benefit rate grow until age 70. Social Security calls the rewriting a clarification, but it appears to have been a clear change in positions. Larry wrote about the change in the following article: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/social-securitys-christmas-present-b....

Based on the regulations as they are now written, you could not file just for spousal benefits only at age 66 unless you withdraw your claim for SSDI AND repay all of the benefits you've received. That almost certainly would be disadvantageous, so it's probably not worth considering. You could still voluntarily suspend your benefits in order to let your benefit rate grow by 8% per year until age 70, but you wouldn't be able to draw any spousal benefits while your own benefits are suspended. You may want to consider using our software to explore your options in order to determine your best strategy moving forward.

Best, Jerry