Confused about Social Security claim order - can I take spousal benefits at 62 while my own SS benefits grow until 70?

That SSA representative gave you incorrect information, unfortunately. The "restricted application" strategy (filing for just spousal benefits while letting your own grow) is only available to people born before January 2, 1954. If you're turning 62 next year, you were born well after that cutoff date. When you file for any benefit now, you're deemed to be filing for ALL benefits you're eligible for. This is called "deemed filing." So if you file at 62, you'll get the higher of either your reduced retirement benefit or your reduced spousal benefit - not both, and not with the ability to switch later. Your best strategy might be to coordinate with your husband on who files when, based on your health, longevity expectations, and relative benefit amounts.

OMG they told me the EXACT same thing when i went in last month!!! i got all excited and then my financial advisor said NOPE cant do that anymore. these people dont even know their own rules!! so frustrating

The previous comments are correct. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 eliminated the restricted application strategy for anyone born January 2, 1954 or later. Based on the benefit amounts you shared, it might be worth considering having your husband file at his FRA (67), and you could file for your own benefits at your FRA. Or if longevity runs in your family, waiting until 70 for both of you would maximize your lifetime benefits. With your benefit amounts being relatively high ($2,400 and $3,200 at FRA), the spousal benefit might not even come into play much. The spousal benefit is maximum 50% of your husband's FRA amount, and you only get that if you take it at your FRA. At 62, it would be around 32.5% of his FRA amount.

This EXACT thing happened to me!!! The SS office gave me COMPLETELY wrong information. I ended up filing early based on their advice and lost THOUSANDS of dollars because I couldn't undo it after more than 12 months. The Social Security system is BROKEN and their employees don't understand their own rules!!!

my brother in law works for social security and he says alot of people don't understand that the rules changed in 2015... even some of the workers don't get it right because they've been there for decades and forget about the changes

You mentioned your FRA benefit would be $2400 and your husband's is $3200. Honestly with those numbers, you probably want to focus on maximizing your own benefit rather than spousal benefits anyway. If you took spousal at your FRA, you'd get $1600 (half of his). If you took it early at 62, you'd get even less - around $1120. That's a lot less than your own benefit even with early filing reductions. Have you considered when you actually need the income? If you can wait until 70, your $2400 FRA benefit becomes around $3000/month. That's the permanent value of delaying.

One more thing to consider: survivor benefits. If either of you passes away, the surviving spouse gets to keep the higher of the two benefit amounts. If you expect your husband to have a longer life expectancy, then maximizing your benefit might not be as important. But if you think you might outlive him, having him maximize his benefit by waiting until 70 could provide you with a larger survivor benefit later. Running the numbers with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security claiming strategies might be worthwhile given your benefit amounts.