Important Changes To Social Security In New Two-Year Budget Agreement

According to a report in today’s (10/29/15) Wall Street Journal on page C1, the two-year budget agreement, passed by the House of Representatives on October 28th and headed to the Senate, will eliminate the ability of social security recipients to elect and suspend benefits at age 66  and have their spouse claim spousal benefits while the primary recipient with suspended benefits continues to increase their ultimate payment by delaying their own social security benefits until age 70.   This strategy is described in books such as Get What’s Yours – The Secrets To Maxing Out Your Social Security and in my blog post on May 27, 2015 with the same title.   The change is scheduled to go into effect six months after the budget bill becomes law, after which Social Security will not longer allow family members to submit a new claim for spousal benefits on a suspended benefit.   So there may still be a small window for couples where both spouses will be 66 within the next six months to utilize this benefit.