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Why Can't My Husband Answer Question 26 On The Social Security Application Form?

My husband is 66 and 8 months old and will apply for benefits when he's 67. On page 72 of your book you say to make absolutely sure to put in writing when you wish benefits to begin in the remarks section. (He will apply online) On the application he cannot answer item 26 because he is six months over FRA. Why is that? One of the questions (c) is when to begin benefits. He does not want retroactive benefits, and wants all of his delayed retirement credits.

Hi,

It sounds like you might be referring to the paper application form SSA-1. That form is almost never used these days, having been replaced by the computerized applications that people can either complete by themselves online, or by filing by phone or in person with a Social Security claims representative.

The reason that the SSA-1 form doesn't require an answer to the question regarding when to start benefits from people who are more than 6 months past full retirement age (FRA) is that it was assumed that such people would want the full retroactivity permitted. That could be because at the time the form SSA-1 originated there was no such thing as delayed retirement credits (DRC). DRCs were initially added to the Social Security Act by the amendments passed by Congress in 1972, and they initially only amounted to 1% per year as opposed to the current 8%.

If your husband will be filing online, he'll want to start here: https://secure.ssa.gov/iClaim/rib. When he gets to the 'When To Start Benefits' section of the online application he'll be asked if he wants to start benefits effective with the current month. If your husband answers 'No', the online form will list a range of months that he could choose from. He can then specify one of those months as his month of election to start benefits. He can also optionally add a statement in the 'Remarks' section of the application to clarify that he does not want retroactive benefits.

Just an FYI, if your husband files effective with the month he reaches age 67 he won't immediately get his full 8% DRC increase unless he was born in January. If a person files between FRA and age 70, their benefit rate is initially only credited with DRCs earned through the previous December. Any DRCs earned in the year of filing are credited effective with the following January, although the actual automated process that adds the additional DRCs is only done every other year. That means that your husband's payment rate may not actually include all of the DRCs he earned until roughly 2 years after he files, assuming that he elects any month other than January or the month that he turns 70 as his month to start benefits.

Before filing, your husband should strongly consider using our maximization software to explore and compare all of his filing options so that he can be sure to choose the best possible strategy for claiming his benefits.

Best, Jerry

Posted: 
Aug 10 2018 - 11:09am
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