Next to Final Update!
OK. I'm not sure who asked what with in all of the previous threads so I'll just try and respond to as many comments as I can remember.
I applied for spousal benefits on January 6th after the bill was signed and became law. I had never applied for benefits before and was implacted by the GPO. After getting my application transferred to my local office from the Richmond, CA office, I spoke to the local rep who subsequently scheduled an appointment for a few days after we spoke. She informed me that I needed to submit a copy of our marriage license to be included along with my application for processing. At that point in time, I was listed as being at Step 2 of 3 in the application process.
During the appointment, she indicated that SS needed the marriage license because we were married in the US. If we were married in another country, there is a different list of requirements that we would have to meet in order to verify our marriage.
Earlier, someone had mentioned that they thought that my DW's PIA, upon which spousal support benefit calculations are based, was impacted by the COLA increases that had occurred throughout the years that she had been receiving her own retirement benefits. I did NOT think that was correct. I am proud to report that I was WRONG! The PIA is impacted by benefit COLAs. As a result, my spousal benefit will be larger than I had initially calculated. Yay!
My application has now been forwarded to the SS payment center for final processing. Because the "system" is still being updated to process applications under the provisions of the new law, my benefit payment will probably need to be "manually" processed. However, it's likely that I will receive a benefit deposit in the month of February for benefits that I requested begin in January.
When I got home, I checked the SS website for the status of my application. The status section indicated that I had completed Step 3 of 3 and that the decision to APPROVE my application for spousal benefits had been made today! I should receive a written notice within 10-15 days. Hope everyone else has or is having a positive experience like this. Thank you to everyone out there who has shared their experiences!
Good Luck to Everyone!!!