My husband and i both claimed at 62. The benefit increases from our continued work were pretty small tbh. Maybe like $15-25 a month extra each year. Better than nothing but not life changing. Just sharing our experience.

One more thing to consider in your planning: if your current earnings are significantly higher than earlier in your career, working even just 1-2 years past age 62 before filing might give you a better long-term outcome than filing at 62 while working. This is because those high-earning years would immediately be included in your initial benefit calculation rather than being added through recalculations later. The early filing reduction is permanent (apart from the adjustment at FRA for withheld benefits), so starting with the highest possible base amount can be advantageous.

the whole social security system is just so confusing! i never know what benefits im eligible for. i think most people dont realize how different the rules are for survivor benefits vs divorced spouse benefits vs disability benefits etc. and then theres all these weird exceptions and special rules. no wonder everyone gets confused!

To summarize what everyone has said regarding your situation: 1) For divorced spouse retirement benefits, you must have been married at least 10 years - being 4 months short means you don't qualify, regardless of having children together. 2) Your current marriage would disqualify you anyway (unless it ends before you apply). 3) The benefit your sister likely received was either: - Mother's benefits while caring for young children - Survivor benefits if her ex died (which have different rules) To maximize your retirement income now: - Ensure you work long enough to replace those zero years in your earnings record - Consider maximizing retirement account contributions - Look into whether your current marriage (if it lasts 10+ years) might provide spousal benefits - Consider delaying your own retirement benefits to increase your monthly amount

my wife got one of those random payments and it turned out it was back pay for the medicare premium adjustment thing. do you have medicare too? might be that

did anybody else notice they're doing these adjustments way later than usual this year? my dad got his in january but i just got mine last week. ssa is so disorganized lol

I'm so glad I found this thread because my situation is kinda similar! My ex worked for the county while I worked regular jobs with SS taxes. Getting divorced in 2 months and will get part of his pension. Was worried about this exact issue!

Thank you all for your helpful responses! I've scheduled an in-person appointment at my local SSA office next week and prepared a list of questions based on your suggestions. I'll ask for written confirmation and the specific POMS references. I'm also going to look into working those additional 2 years to reach 30 years of substantial earnings - that seems like the safest approach. I'll update this thread after my appointment in case it helps someone else in a similar situation.

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! This clears up a lot of my confusion. I'm going to take that consulting job and not worry about an earnings limit. I'll talk to my tax person about possibly making estimated quarterly payments to cover the extra income and maybe adjusting my withholding on my Social Security benefits too. Really appreciate all the explanations!

I just wanted to apologize for my earlier response. I was confusing the rules before and after FRA. My husband was still 6 months away from his FRA when he went back to work, which is why he saw a reduction. Thank you to everyone who provided the correct information!

One important thing to note: there's a difference between "they want the money back because it was paid in error" and "they paid you correctly but made a mistake in their records." If multiple SSA reps have confirmed the money is legitimately yours, it's extremely unlikely they would reverse course. In my 15 years working with SSDI recipients, I've never seen a properly-confirmed Medicare premium refund get reversed. While waiting for documentation, I suggest setting aside about 30% of the money in a separate savings account just as a precaution, but you should be able to use the rest. Document every conversation - date, time, rep name if possible, and what they told you. This can serve as evidence if there's ever a question later.

Just realized something - check your Medicare Summary Notices from the past few months! My uncle had a similar situation and they actually had a tiny note at the bottom of page 3 on his Medicare Summary Notice that mentioned the premium adjustment. Most people never read those things all the way through! Might be worth digging through your mail or logging into your Medicare.gov account to check your recent MSNs.

This happened to my brother and sister-in-law too. You know what they did? They filed taxes separately for a few years until she retired. Might be worth looking into.

Thank you all for the helpful advice! I've increased my 401(k) contributions to the maximum allowed with catch-up provisions to reduce our AGI, and we've scheduled a meeting with a tax professional to explore all our options. I also used Claimyr to speak with an SSA representative who confirmed everything you all mentioned about the taxation thresholds. While it's frustrating that so much of my husband's benefit will be taxed while I'm working, at least now we can budget accordingly and explore strategies to minimize the impact. I appreciate all your insights!

Why does ANYONE want to delay benefits??? I started mine the MINUTE I was eligible at 62. That's FIVE YEARS of checks you're missing out on! My neighbor waited until 70 and then DIED at 72!! All that money left on the table. Take it when you can get it people!!!

i had the same issue but mine was stuck with a date from 2 years ago lol. ended up having to call and the lady fixed it for me after i waited forever. good luck

Does the ex have to be retired for her to get these benefits? My kid's father is 65 but still working and I'm 61 with our disabled daughter.

Thank you all for the great information! I've helped my sister make an appointment with SSA. We'll make sure to bring documentation about her son's disability status and her caregiving role. It sounds like she should be eligible for the full 50% without reduction, minus any adjustment for her part-time earnings. One last question - will she need her ex's SSN for the application or can SSA find that information based on her son's existing benefit?

Has anyone received retro payments when they applied for spousal benefits? Like if she qualifies now but didn't know to apply?

I just wanted to update everyone - I finally got through to SSA this morning after trying for days! The agent confirmed I do qualify for a small additional spousal benefit of about $245/month. Not huge, but definitely helpful. They're processing it now and said it should start with my next payment. Thanks everyone for your help explaining this complicated system!