Social Security and “Spousal Only” Benefits using the Restricted Application

The enactment of the Senior Citizens’ Freedom to Work Act of 2000 on April 7, 2000, was significant in that it eliminated the Social Security Retirement Earnings Test (earnings test) for a worker that reached Full Retirement Age (FRA) thereby allowing the worker at FRA to earn as high of an earned income (W2 wages or self-employed net earnings) as they wished, without a reduction in his or her Social Security payment.