I will be 66 years old in January, 2019. I would like to file for Spousal Social Security benefits, collecting one half of my husband's benefit and waiting until I am 70 years old to collect on my own earnings record. I plan to file online, and following your recommendation to specify in the "remarks" section to "exclude retirement benefits on my own record from the scope of this application." My question is: Is there an equivalent form to SSA-2-BK when filing online? I only see the one application form. Please advise.

Thank you,
Doris

Hi Doris,

No, there isn't an online application designed specifically for applying for spousal benefits only. In order to file for spousal benefits online, you must choose the 'retirement' option, just as though you were applying for your own retirement benefits. You'll reach a question in the application path that asks "If you are eligible for both retirement benefits and spouse's benefit, do you want to delay receipt of retirement benefit?" You'll want to answer that question 'yes' in order to restrict the scope of your application to spousal benefits only. I would still suggest that you also add the statement quoted in your question in the remarks section of your application, just to make your intent perfectly clear.

By the way, if you haven't already done so you may want to use our software in order to make sure that you're choosing your optimal filing strategy.

Best, Jerry