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Explaining Social Security spousal benefits
For married couples, claiming spousal benefits isn’t always as simple as taking one half of the other spouse’s benefit. Although two claiming strategies for a couple to maximize their benefits were closed by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, the opportunity to maximize hasn’t gone away for those who reached their 62nd birthday by the end of 2015. These folks were grandfathered into a rule called the “restricted application”, which allows one spouse to claim only spousal benefits while allowing their own benefit to grow to as much as 132% of their benefit at their full retirement age. In this article by William E.Jones appearing in the Tallahassee Democrat, he explains the restricted application and how a couple who qualifies can use it to maximize their Social Security benefits. Click here to read more.