Hi Larry, this is VERY important to me, hope you can please assist! My husband got his application summary today in the mail from the social security office. He had a telephone application with them this past Wednesday.
In the application summary it is states this......I DO NOT WANT TO FILE FOR SSI....Well he never said that. He knows he cannot apply for SSI while living in Germany, but once we are back in the States, if he is eligible, he would be able to apply. By that comment being written as the above, will that eliminate his ability to apply for SSI in the future once we do reside in the States again? We have a social security office here so he can go there anytime, and am wondering if he can change that?
Also, I decided not to take the spousal annuity at this moment, because I may want to go back to work full time.
My husband applied on Oct 11, 2017 after he turned 62 and I turned 62 October 10, 2017. I received a letter from social security that states the following.......If you file the application within 6 months of the date of this letter, we will use August 4, 2017, the date of the original request, as the filing date. What in the world does that mean, I was not even 62 years old yet on August 4, 2017, and neither was my husband. Are they trying to cheat me out of something I am not aware of? Please help!

Hi,

The fact that your husband's application says that he doesn't want to file for SSI would have no adverse effect on his right to apply for SSI in the future. He would still be free to file for SSI tomorrow, or any time in the future. By the way, for other readers SSI stands for Supplemental Security Income, which is a needs based program administered by the Social Security Administration.

And, no, Social Security is not trying to cheat you out of anything. By listing you on his application, your husband established a Social Security protective filing date for you (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204010). Social Security applications can be filed up to 4 months in advance, so your husband's filing date was protective for you since you were within 4 months of age 62 at that time. Since you told them that you didn't want to file now, Social Security sent you a 6-month close out letter informing you that if you change your mind within that time you could still claim benefits based on your husband's filing date. Even after 6 months, you will still be free to file for any benefits for which you qualify, but you would no longer have the option of using your husband's filing date as your application date.

You and your husband should strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website to explore your filing options and determine your best strategy.

Best, Jerry