In the coming weeks and months, the Social Security Administration will be working with the Department of Justice to develop and implement additional policy and processing instructions. If you believe you may be eligible for Social Security benefits, we encourage you to apply now to protect you against the loss of any potential benefits. Applying as soon as possible will establish a “protective filing date”; while waiting to file might end up costing benefits to claimants.
However, it appears that it will take a long time before the SSA establishes a new policy for processing these claims. Anything that the SSA does must first be approved by the Department of Justice.
SSA’s website has a link to information for same-sex couples: www.ssa.gov/doma/.
