Can I collect ex-spouse Social Security benefits at FRA then switch to my own at 70?

Yes, this strategy is possible and it's perfectly legal! It's called a restricted application. If you've reached your Full Retirement Age (FRA), you can choose to collect only your ex-spouse's benefit while allowing your own retirement benefit to grow until age 70. This gives you those delayed retirement credits of 8% per year. The key requirements: 1. You must be at your FRA (which you are) 2. Your marriage lasted at least 10 years (yours was 22) 3. You must be currently unmarried 4. Your ex must be eligible for benefits (even if not collecting) The deemed filing rule changed in 2015 with the Bipartisan Budget Act, but people born on or before January 1, 1954 were grandfathered in. You didn't mention your birth year, but that would be the main thing to double-check.

I TRIED THIS EXACT THING and they DENIED me!! Said I wasn't eligible because of my birth date (I'm 67). The SSA rep told me the restricted application option was eliminated in 2015 for people born after 1/1/1954. Are you SURE you understood what they told you?? The whole system is designed to confuse us. I spent 3 hours waiting at my local office only to be told incorrect information. When I went back with printouts from the SSA website, they suddenly "remembered" the rule change. Double check EVERYTHING they tell you!!!

There's definitely some confusion here. The ability to file a restricted application (taking ex-spouse benefits while your own continue to grow) is ONLY available to people born on or before January 1, 1954. For anyone born after that date (including someone born in 1958), the deemed filing rule applies - which means when you file for any benefit, you're deemed to have filed for all benefits you're eligible for, and you'll receive whichever is higher. I suspect the claims specialist might have been confused or you might have misunderstood. It happens frequently, unfortunately. I'd recommend calling the SSA again and speaking with a different representative to confirm the rules that apply to your specific birth year.

I've been in a similar situation but with my own SS. I tried calling SSA multiple times to get clarification about switching strategies and kept getting disconnected or waiting for 2+ hours. So frustrating! I finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent in about 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with confirmed that the restricted application option only applies to people born before 1954. For those of us born after, we can only get either our own benefit or the spousal benefit, whichever is higher - not both sequentially. Worth checking with another agent to confirm what you were told.

my neighbor did something like this i think. she was getting her ex husbands SS for a while then switched to her own later. but shes older like 75 now so maybe rules were different for her? idk the details exactly but she said it worked out better for her financially

Update: I called the SSA this morning and finally got through to someone. The new agent confirmed that I CANNOT do the restricted application strategy because I was born after January 1, 1954. Apparently the claims specialist I met with gave me incorrect information! She explained that when I file, I'll simply get the higher of either my own benefit or my ex-spouse benefit (about 50% of his). If I wait until 70, my own benefit will grow by 8% per year, which will definitely be higher than my ex-spouse benefit at that point. Thanks everyone for your help - you saved me from making a big mistake based on incorrect information!

This whole thread is making me nervous... I'm turning FRA next month and planned to do exactly what the original poster described (take ex-spouse benefits now, switch to mine at 70). Now I'm worried! I was born in 1953 though, so maybe I'm still ok? Does anyone know for sure?

As someone new to navigating Social Security, this thread has been incredibly educational! It's concerning how much misinformation gets passed around, even from SSA representatives themselves. For anyone else reading this who might be confused: the key takeaway seems to be that the restricted application strategy (taking spousal/ex-spousal benefits while letting your own grow) is ONLY available if you were born on or before January 1, 1954. If you were born after that date, you're subject to "deemed filing" - meaning you automatically get the higher of your two benefits, not both sequentially. Katherine, I'm glad you called back and got the correct information! It's a good reminder that when it comes to something this important financially, it's always worth getting a second opinion from SSA directly. The difference between getting this right vs wrong could literally be tens of thousands of dollars over a lifetime. Does anyone know if there's an official SSA publication that clearly explains these birth date cutoffs? It seems like having that documentation handy would help avoid confusion with representatives who might not be up to date on the rules.

As someone who recently went through a similar situation, I can't emphasize enough how important it is to get everything in writing from SSA! I learned this the hard way when I was given incorrect information about survivor benefits last year. What helped me was creating a simple checklist before any SSA interaction: 1. Know your exact birth date and how it relates to the January 1, 1954 cutoff 2. Bring printed copies of relevant SSA publications (like the ones Caleb mentioned) 3. Ask the representative to document their advice in your file 4. Get their name and employee ID number 5. Follow up with a second call or visit if anything seems unclear Katherine, you handled this exactly right by calling back for confirmation. It's frustrating that we have to be our own advocates with something this complex, but this thread shows how valuable it is to double-check important financial decisions. For anyone else reading this - if you're born after 1954 and are considering your claiming strategy, remember that you can still maximize your benefits by waiting until 70 if possible. Those delayed retirement credits of 8% per year are guaranteed and compound, which is often better than any safe investment you could make with early benefits.