Filing joint Social Security application with spouse - anyone done this successfully?

Yes, you and your spouse can absolutely apply at the same time! My husband and I did this last year. The important thing to know is that while you can submit applications during the same session, they're still processed as separate claims. Your wife's spousal benefit application will remain pending until your retirement benefit is approved, but this happens automatically in their system. I recommend applying online - it's much easier than dealing with the office. Start by creating your my Social Security accounts if you haven't already. Then when you complete your retirement application, there will be a section asking if your spouse wants to apply for benefits. Make sure to complete that section, and your wife will need to complete her portion as well. Just be prepared with all your documents: birth certificates, marriage certificate, tax returns if requested, bank information for direct deposit, etc. Good luck!

we did this 2 yrs ago and it was a MESS!!! online system kept crashing halfway thru my wifes application and we lost all the info THREE TIMES!!! ended up having to call ssa and wait 3.5 hrs on hold just to get someone who didnt even kno how to help us!!! eventually had to drag ourselves to the office and wait 4 hrs to see someone in person!!

My experience was pretty smooth. Applied online for both my retirement and my wife's spousal benefits at the same time last March. I received my approval after about 3 weeks, and her spousal benefit was approved about 10 days after mine. The key is to make sure you have all documents ready to upload - marriage certificate is particularly important for the spousal benefit. Also, if your wife has her own work record, the system will automatically calculate whether she should receive her own benefit or the spousal benefit (whichever is higher). One thing to note: if your wife is under her Full Retirement Age, her spousal benefit will be permanently reduced. At 66, I'm assuming she's at or past her FRA, so that shouldn't be an issue for you.

Why would your wife get spousal benefits instead of her own?? If she worked she probably gets more from her own record!!

After trying for WEEKS to get through to Social Security on the phone (constant busy signals, getting disconnected after waiting for hours), I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes. Seriously saved my sanity when I was trying to coordinate my retirement application with my husband's spousal benefits. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - website is claimyr.com. It was so much better than the online system which kept giving me errors when I tried to link our applications.

To answer your specific question about applying together - yes, this is possible and even encouraged by SSA. Here's some important information about the process: 1. You can apply up to 4 months before you want benefits to begin 2. For spousal benefits, your spouse doesn't need to wait for your approval before applying 3. The system will automatically link your applications based on SSNs 4. For couples at FRA (which it sounds like you both are), there are no reductions to worry about 5. If your spouse has her own work history, SSA will automatically pay the higher of either her own retirement benefit or the spousal benefit (up to 50% of your PIA) The online application is definitely the most efficient approach. Make sure to have these documents ready: - Birth certificates for both of you - Marriage certificate - Most recent W-2 or tax return - Bank information for direct deposit One important note: if either of you worked in jobs not covered by Social Security (some government positions, etc.), the WEP or GPO provisions might affect your benefits, and that would require additional documentation.

My husband and I tried to do this last fall and ran into issues because our marriage certificate was from another country (he's originally from Canada). Just a heads up that if you have any international documents, you might need to get them translated or certified. Ended up taking us an extra 6 weeks to get everything processed because of that one document!

Applying earlier has several advantages: 1. It gives SSA more time to process your application (important if there are any complications) 2. If any documents are missing, you have time to provide them without delaying your payments 3. It allows for better financial planning as you'll get your approval before your intended start date 4. If there are any issues or questions about maximum family benefits or other calculations, they can be resolved before payments begin There's no downside to applying early within that 4-month window. Just be very clear about which month you want benefits to begin. The default is usually the earliest possible month, but you can specify a later month if that fits your financial planning better.

Yes, you'll both need your own my Social Security accounts. Each person needs their own account authenticated with their own personal information for security reasons. The online system will allow you to link the applications during the process, but your wife will need to complete parts of her application herself through her own account. Make sure you both have accounts set up before you start the application process - it will make things much smoother!

One additional tip that helped us tremendously - make sure to check your Social Security statements online before applying to verify your earnings history is correct. We discovered my wife had a missing year of earnings that we had to get corrected before her spousal benefit calculation would be accurate. It's much easier to fix these issues before you apply rather than after. You can access your statements through your my Social Security account once you set it up. Also, keep copies of everything you submit - the confirmation numbers, uploaded documents, etc. Having a paper trail really helps if you need to follow up on anything during the process.

This is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation - my husband and I are both approaching retirement age and trying to figure out the best timing for our Social Security applications. One question I haven't seen addressed yet: if my husband files for his retirement benefits first and I wait a few months to file for spousal benefits, will that affect the amount I receive? Or does the spousal benefit calculation stay the same regardless of when I apply (assuming I'm at FRA)? Also, has anyone had experience with the "deemed filing" rules? I've read something about how if you're eligible for both your own retirement benefit and spousal benefits, SSA automatically files you for both - but I'm not sure if that's still current or if it only applies to certain age groups. Thanks for all the great information everyone has shared!

Just wanted to add something that really helped us when we applied last year - if you're worried about the online system crashing or losing your information (which does happen sometimes), you can save your progress as you go. The SSA online application has a "save and continue later" feature that I didn't know about initially. You get a confirmation number that lets you come back and finish where you left off within 30 days. Also, regarding the timing question someone asked - there's actually a slight advantage to applying for spousal benefits in the same month your husband applies for his retirement benefits. While the spousal benefit can't be paid until his claim is approved, having both applications in the system simultaneously can sometimes speed up the overall processing time since they're reviewed together as a family unit. One more thing - make sure you understand the difference between your wife's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) from her own work record versus the spousal benefit. Even if her own PIA is lower, she might still be eligible for a "combined" benefit where she gets her own amount plus the difference to bring it up to the spousal benefit level. The SSA automatically calculates this, but it's good to understand how it works!

I went through this exact process with my husband about 8 months ago and can share our experience. We both applied online simultaneously - I was 67 and applying for retirement benefits, and he was 65 applying for spousal benefits. The process was actually much smoother than I expected! A few things that really helped us: First, we spent about a week beforehand gathering all our documents and scanning them so we'd have digital copies ready to upload. Second, we did both applications on the same day but took turns using the computer so we could help each other through any confusing parts. The key thing to know is that even though you submit at the same time, your wife's spousal benefit application will show as "pending" until yours is fully approved. Don't panic when you see that status - it's completely normal. My husband's application stayed pending for about 3 weeks until mine was approved, then his was processed within a few days after that. One tip: when you get to the section about your wife applying for benefits, make sure she's sitting right there with you because she'll need to answer some questions and digitally sign her portion. You can't complete her application for her, even as her spouse. The whole thing took us about 45 minutes each, and we avoided the office completely. Definitely worth doing online if you're comfortable with computers!

This thread has been incredibly helpful! I'm in a very similar situation - I'll be 67 next month and my wife is 66, so we're both at FRA. Reading through everyone's experiences, it sounds like applying online simultaneously is definitely the way to go. I have one specific question that I haven't seen addressed yet: For the direct deposit setup, do we each need to provide our own bank account information, or can we use the same joint account for both of our benefit payments? We've had a joint checking account for years and would prefer to have everything deposited there, but I want to make sure SSA allows that arrangement. Also, thank you to everyone who mentioned the importance of checking earnings records first - I just logged into my Social Security account and found a discrepancy from 1987 that I need to get corrected before we apply. Better to catch these things early! One more question if anyone knows: If we apply in early April for benefits to start in May, roughly how long should we expect before we see our first payments? I'm trying to plan our transition from employer health insurance to Medicare.