I'd call them NOW if I were you. My neighbor had a similar situation and it turned out they had his birthdate wrong and the whole application was stuck in limbo for MONTHS because no one bothered to contact him!!!

my mom just went through this! applied in july for november start and didn't get approval until late october. everything ended up fine!

To answer your follow-up question - there could potentially be an advantage to waiting until your FRA to claim survivor benefits, but it depends on your specific situation. If your own benefit might grow to exceed your husband's benefit amount by the time you reach age 70 (through delayed retirement credits), there's a strategy where you could take the survivor benefit at your FRA and then switch to your own higher benefit later. However, given that you're already collecting your own benefit and said your husband's is significantly higher, this strategy likely wouldn't apply. In your case, applying immediately would probably make the most sense.

One more important thing to note - when your husband passes away, you should not cash or deposit his final Social Security payment if it arrives after his death. That payment will need to be returned to SSA. They will then issue the correct payment based on the date of death. This is a common point of confusion that can lead to overpayment issues later.

Not to be morbid but with a 27 year age gap you should DEFINITELY get married ASAP if you want her to qualify for anything!!! The 9 month marriage requirement is really important here. My aunt missed out on thousands because her husband died 7 months after they got married!!!

One more thing to consider: If you do get married and something happens to you shortly after, the 9-month marriage duration requirement can be waived in certain circumstances, such as: - If death was accidental - If death was while serving as a member of a uniformed service on active duty - If you were previously married to each other and the prior marriage lasted at least 9 months Just FYI so your partner knows her options in a worst-case scenario.

This stuff always confuses me...so many rules! im gonna have to start thinking about all this soon too...

One additional point I think is worth mentioning: Even though your early filing won't affect your survivor benefits in this particular case (since your husband's benefit is higher than your FRA amount), there is a general benefit to having the higher-earning spouse delay claiming as long as possible (even past FRA to age 70) if longevity is expected. This maximizes the survivor benefit for whichever spouse lives longer. However, since your husband already claimed at his FRA and not at 70, this particular strategy isn't relevant to your current situation. Just wanted to mention it for others reading who might still be planning their claiming strategy as a couple.

CORRECTION to my earlier comment: I double-checked the SSA rules and survivor benefits can actually have 12 months of retroactivity, not 6 months (that's for retirement benefits). So you could potentially get up to 12 months of back payments if you've already been at your FRA for a while. Sorry for any confusion!

One more thing that confused me during my application - they ask if you want to apply for ALL benefits you're eligible for. Say NO to this question! If you say yes, they'll automatically give you whichever is higher right now (probably your own), which defeats the whole purpose of the strategy of taking survivors now and your own later.

My mom just had this happen!!! But hers was $43 and it was because they had been taking out too much for Medicare or something? She said it was an "IRMAA adjustment" whatever that means. Check if your Medicare premium changed recently!

Since this seems to be a Medicare premium adjustment from what others are saying, you should check your Medicare MSN (Medicare Summary Notice) in your Medicare.gov account. Sometimes the explanation shows up there before the SSA letter arrives. Also check your spam folder if you get electronic notifications.

Since you mentioned your wife worked for the Texas education system, you should definitely be prepared to discuss WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) and GPO (Government Pension Offset). These provisions can significantly reduce Social Security benefits for people who receive pensions from jobs not covered by Social Security. Bring statements showing: - The amount of her teaching pension - When it started or will start - How many years she worked in covered employment (jobs where she paid SS taxes) You might want to review the SSA's WEP and GPO calculators before your appointment so you're not surprised by the reduction calculations: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/wep-calculator.html

As for your question about when they'll call - in my experience, they were about 15 minutes late for the scheduled time. They'll typically provide a one-hour window (like 2:00-3:00) rather than an exact time. Make sure both you and your wife are available for the call, as they'll need to speak with both of you if you're both applying. Regarding your first payment - if everything is approved during the call, you'll typically receive your first direct deposit the month after your application is processed. Since benefits are paid in the month following the month they're due, there's usually about a 2-3 month gap between application and first payment. The representative should be able to tell you exactly when to expect it during your call.

does anybody know if there's an age limit for disabled widow benefits? like what if she's 49?

Thanks to everyone for the helpful advice. I'm going to help my wife start her SSDI application this week. I realize now this is really important for protecting her future security. I appreciate the clear explanations about how the survivor benefits work differently for disabled spouses - I had no idea about most of these rules!

In my experience, yes, it worked great. I was skeptical too but was desperate after trying for days to reach someone. Got connected in about 15 minutes when I'd been unable to get through at all on my own.

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I've decided to go ahead with my phone interview as scheduled rather than postponing it. I'll make sure to mention the WEP situation during the call so it's documented, but won't expect them to process that adjustment manually. I'm a bit nervous about the overall confusion at SSA with all the WEP adjustments happening, but it sounds like delaying would just put me further back in line for the divorced spousal benefit without actually helping the WEP situation. I'll update after my February appointment if anything interesting comes up!

One more thing to be aware of: if you're trying to file a restricted application for spousal benefits only while letting your own benefits grow, you must have been born before January 2, 1954 to be eligible for this strategy. If you were born on or after that date, filing for any benefit is deemed filing for all benefits you're eligible for. Given that you mentioned being 67, you should be eligible for the restricted application option, which can be very advantageous if your own benefit will be higher at age 70 than your spousal benefit is now. Make sure this is clearly explained in your application (whether online or by phone) as many SSA representatives aren't familiar with this provision since it was eliminated for younger beneficiaries.

wait im confused, can u explain the difference between spousal benefits and survivor benefits? my husband is still alive but he gets wayyyy more SS than i would. can i get some of his now or only after he dies???