I turned 66 in Feb. 2016 and filed and suspended my benefits before the April 2016 deadline. My wife turned 66 in August of 2016 and applied for spousal benefits at that time. After many inquires to SSI she received the the following when she logged into her account. (It was dated 09/12/2016 but did appear until Nov. 2016.) "Your claim for Spouse benefits has been approved. ..." After several months and no payment she has made multiple (documented) calls to Social Security she was told that yes her spouse benefits had been approved but been suspended, and they didn't know why, she would have to go into an office. She made an appointment to go into our local office, which was today. The clerk did not know why benefits had been suspended and called in her supervisor. The supervisor said she had missed a July 2016 deadline to apply and thus not entitled to benefits. I cannot find any reference to this deadline for the spouse to apply. Can you verify such a deadline exists. Thanks

Hi,

I can't imagine what the supervisor you spoke with could be referring to by a July 2016 deadline. If you filed and suspended your benefits prior to the April 30 2016 deadline, your wife should be able to receive her spousal benefits while your benefits are suspended (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/suspendfaq.html).

You should definitely pursue this matter with Social Security further. If they continue to stonewall you, you may want to try contacting the office(s) of your US Senator(s) or Congressperson.

Best, Jerry