The file-and-suspend strategy has been available as an option for elder couples wanting to apply Social Security benefits since the rules changed in 2000. The file-and-suspend option has recently been done away with in the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, and filers who are still old enough to claim to qualify for this provision will have until April 29th before the new rules go into effect. Under the old rules a person could file for benefits and then suspend them until a later date while their spouse could continue to collect benefits to offset the temporary loss from the suspension. Couples who were able to understand how the rules worked could have potentially saved thousands of dollars. People who currently qualify for file-and-suspend should hurry up and act on it before the April 29 deadline.
See Mark P. Cussen, Social Security File-and-Suspend: New Guidance Released, Investopedia, February 22, 2016.
