Ask Rusty – About the “Restricted Application for Spousal Benefits Only”

Dear Rusty: You wrote an article about a man who was collecting spouse benefits but was applying for his own benefit at age 70, under an old law. What are the circumstances surrounding that gentleman’s ability to collect spousal benefits? Why was he eligible? And was he working clear up into the age of 70 before applying for his own Social Security? Signed: An Inquiring Mind

Dear Inquiring Mind: The “old law,” under which the gentleman in the article was collecting only a spousal benefit from his wife, is no longer available to anyone born after January 1, 1954, which means it is largely unavailable to those applying for Social Security today. Here’s how the “old law” worked:

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal

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