Apparently, Social Security has taken notice of people using their current rules to maximize their retirement benefits. This can occur for two-income couples wherein one will claim spousal benefits while the other waits until age 70 to collect. NPR’s Planet Money did a story about this. It is worth a listen. The Obama administration is proposing to eliminate this aspect of Social Security law.
A couple of things to note. Social Security confirmed to NPR that this current practice is perfectly fine. So, if this applies to you, do it. The other take away is that is will require Congress to amend Social Security regulations to take away this loophole. This strongly suggests it will never happen. (Congress could not pass a law to say that the Sun is hot.) But, the law is pretty well established that the government can take away promised benefits at any time. Those losing benefits have no real recourse. So, bear in mind that if you start down this path, Uncle Sam could close this loophole at any time.
For what it is worth, perhaps an email to your members of Congress about this could do some good.
