Example 1: Mrs. Smith, a widow of an insured individual, contacts a Social Security office when she reaches age 60 to inquire about applying for widow's insurance benefits. She is told by an SSA employee that she must be age 62 to be eligible for these benefits. This information, which was incorrect, causes Mrs. Smith not to file an application for benefits. When Mrs. Smith reaches age 62, she again contacts a Social Security office to ask about filing for widow's insurance benefits and learns that she could have received the benefits at age 60. She files an application for these benefits, provides the information required under paragraph (f) of this section to show that an SSA employee provided misinformation, and requests a deemed filing date based on the misinformation which she received from an SSA employee when she was age 60.
Example 2: Ms. Hill, a 22-year-old, is forced to stop work because of illness. When she contacts a Social Security office to inquire about applying for disability insurance benefits, she is told by an SSA employee that she must have 20 quarters of coverage out of the last 40 calendar quarters to be insured for disability insurance benefits. The employee fails to consider the special rules for insured status for persons who become disabled before age 31 and, consequently, tells Ms. Hill that she is not insured because she only has 16 quarters of coverage. The misinformation causes Ms. Hill not to file an application for disability insurance benefits. Because of her illness, she is unable to return to work. A year later, Ms. Hill reads an article that indicates that there are special rules for insured status for young workers who become disabled. She again contacts a Social Security office to inquire about benefits based on disability and learns that she was misinformed earlier about her insured status. She files an application for disability insurance benefits, provides the information required under paragraph (f) of this section to show that an SSA employee provided misinformation, and requests a deemed filing date based on the misinformation provided to her earlier.
20 C.F.R. §404.633