Can I still claim Social Security from ex-spouse if born after 1954? New rules confusing me

You're right to be confused - there was a big change in the 2015 Budget Act that eliminated what was called the 'restricted application' strategy for anyone born after January 1, 1954. Before that change, you could file for JUST spousal benefits at your Full Retirement Age (FRA) while letting your own retirement benefit continue to grow until age 70. Now, if you were born after 1954, when you file for any benefit, you're deemed to be filing for ALL benefits you're eligible for, and you'll just get whichever is higher - your own or the spousal benefit. It's called 'deemed filing' and it eliminated that particular strategy. So unfortunately, you cannot take ex-spousal benefits now and switch to your own later.

Yea i think thats right. my sister tried to do this last year and got denied. she was born in 1958 and they told her the same thing about the 'deemed filing' rule. pretty frustrating cause the SSA website still has confusing info about it. good luck

This is a common misunderstanding. Here's the correct information: 1. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 eliminated the restricted application strategy for anyone born after January 1, 1954. 2. For people born before that date, they could file a restricted application for spousal benefits only at their Full Retirement Age while allowing their own retirement benefit to grow with delayed retirement credits. 3. For those born after 1954 (like you), when you file for any Social Security benefit, you're deemed to be filing for all benefits you're eligible for at that time. This is called "deemed filing." 4. You'll receive whichever benefit is higher - your own retirement benefit or the spousal/ex-spousal benefit (which is 50% of your ex's full retirement benefit). 5. The only exception to deemed filing is for survivor benefits. If you're eligible for survivor benefits as a widow/widower, you can still choose to take one benefit first and switch to the other later. So in your case, you should calculate whether your own benefit at whatever age you claim will be higher than 50% of your ex-husband's benefit at his Full Retirement Age. Then claim at the optimal time based on that comparison.

This whole system is RIDICULOUS!!! They keep changing the rules and expect us to keep up! I got caught by this same stupid rule change. By the time I figured it out, I had already filed for my own benefit and LOST OUT on thousands of dollars I could have gotten from my ex's record if I had known the RIGHT STRATEGY!!!! The worst part is the SSA employees dont even understand their own rules half the time!!!

One thing nobody's mentioned yet - you don't need to contact your ex to get this info. SSA has all his earnings records in their system. When you apply for benefits, they'll automatically calculate if you qualify for ex-spouse benefits and give you the higher amount between your own record and the spousal benefit. Also, when I was struggling to get clear answers about my own situation, I used a service called Claimyr to get through to SSA quickly (https://claimyr.com). Their video demo (https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU) shows how it works. Saved me hours of busy signals and hold time. The agent I finally spoke with confirmed everything about the deemed filing rule and ran calculations based on both my record and my ex's.

Another important point: while the restricted application strategy is gone for those born after 1954, you still have options for maximizing your benefit: 1. Timing your claim - if your own benefit will exceed the ex-spousal benefit (50% of your ex's FRA amount) by age 70, you might want to delay claiming. 2. Ex-spousal benefits don't grow with delayed retirement credits. So if the ex-spousal benefit is higher, there's no advantage to waiting beyond your FRA. 3. You can claim ex-spouse benefits even if your ex hasn't filed yet, as long as they're eligible for benefits (at least 62) and you've been divorced for at least 2 years. 4. Your claiming has zero effect on your ex-spouse's benefits or any benefits their current spouse might receive. For your specific situation, I'd recommend making an appointment with SSA to review both records before making a decision.

my neighbor had this same issue she was born in 1957... she said what helped her was making an actual appointment at the local ssa office instead of calling. the wait times on the phone are insane but they were able to run the numbers for both scenarios when she went in person. turns out her own benefit was higher anyway so the rule change didnt matter much for her situation

Thank you everyone for all the great information! I'm still disappointed that I can't use the restricted application strategy, but at least I understand the rules now. I'm going to try to get an appointment with SSA to review both my record and my ex's to see which benefit will be higher and when I should claim. And I'll definitely try that Claimyr service to get through on the phone - anything to avoid those ridiculous wait times! I'll update this thread once I have more information in case it helps someone else in my situation.