My friend went thru similar thing last year and she said the trick is to get everything in writing. Ask them to send you the policy references. Also my nephew with downs gets both SSI and the disabled adult child benefit but they reduced his SSI when the other benefit started. Still he gets more total $ this way and keeps his medicaid which is the main thing.

I wonder if anyone here has used an attorney to navigate this process? I'm considering it for my own situation with my brother's benefits, but not sure if it's worth the cost or if they can actually help with the SSA bureaucracy.

I tried calling SS sooooo many times last month about my disability application! Kept getting busy signals or would wait forever and then get disconnected. Super frustrating! Finally used this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual person in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me literally hours of hold time. Might be worth trying if you need specific answers about your situation.

To summarize what others have correctly stated: You need to have been married for at least 10 consecutive years to qualify for divorced spouse benefits. With only 6 years of marriage, you unfortunately won't be eligible to collect benefits on your ex-husband's record. At this point, I'd recommend: 1. Create a my Social Security account to see your own benefit estimates 2. Consider delaying your benefits until 70 if possible to maximize your monthly amount 3. Review if you have any other ex-spouses from marriages that lasted 10+ years 4. If you've remarried, you may be eligible for spousal benefits on your current spouse's record You mentioned spotty work history, but even with limited work credits, you might qualify for your own retirement benefits. If your own retirement benefit would be very low, you might also want to look into SSI (Supplemental Security Income) depending on your financial situation.

i was a teacher for 31 years and let me tell u, that GPO is a KILLER!! married my hubby for 22 years and cant get A PENNY of his social security now that hes gone. all because of my teacher pension. if I knew then what I know now, I would have chosen a different career!!! be very careful with your planning

To answer your follow-up question: Yes, the GPO only affects benefits he might receive as a spouse or survivor, not his own earned Social Security. He will always be eligible for his own $1,050 regardless of your marital status. If you marry and you predecease him, he would receive whichever is higher between: 1. His own benefit ($1,050) 2. The GPO-reduced survivor benefit ($3,100 - $1,800 = $1,300) So in this case, marriage would provide an additional $250/month in income if you pass away first. Whether that's worth it depends on your overall financial situation, estate planning goals, health considerations, and how long you expect the survivor situation might last. Also worth noting - if you continue working past your FRA, your benefit amount will continue increasing, which could increase the potential survivor benefit as well.

one more thing - make sure ur checking the MESSAGE CENTER when u log in not just the dashboard. i thought i had no messages for weeks till someone told me to click on the envelope icon. ss website is so confusing!!

@OP after seeing you mention your application is pretty straightforward, I'd definitely give it at least 8 weeks total before getting too concerned. My neighbor just retired and his application took 9 weeks with zero communication, then suddenly one day he got the approval letter. The current backlog is pretty significant. If you're approaching the 8-week mark with no movement though, that's when I'd consider either visiting a field office or finding a way to get through on the phone without the ridiculous wait times.

Quick update - my brother started his SSDI application online last night after reading all your helpful advice. He got stuck on the part asking about "date disability began" since he's technically still employed but on medical leave. Should he put the date of his diagnosis, the date dialysis started, or the date his leave began?

tell him good luck!!! my aunt says to make sure he brings his doctors phone numbers and addresses to the application. they ask for ALL that stuff and it slows things down if you dont have it ready

Have you checked that all your income is showing correctly on your SSA earnings record? My uncle had missing years and it drastically affected his benefit calculation. Definitely worth checking before you retire!

Update on your specific question about finalizing plans: While waiting for the official amount, you can make quite accurate estimates. Your benefit depends on: 1. Your highest 35 years of indexed earnings 2. Your exact age when benefits begin (even months matter) 3. Any applicable reductions (WEP/GPO if relevant) If you've worked more than 35 years, SSA will use your highest-earning 35 years. So if you've earned significantly more in recent years, those higher earnings will replace lower earnings from decades ago in the calculation, potentially boosting your benefit. For budgeting purposes, I suggest using the mySocialSecurity estimate, but be prepared for a 5-15% variance in either direction.

Something nobody has mentioned yet - if you're younger than your husband, you might want to consider how the age gap affects your strategy. If he's significantly older, it might make sense for him to file later even if you file for spousal benefits early. The math gets complicated with age differences.

To answer your follow-up question: You generally cannot claim spousal benefits until your spouse has filed for their own retirement benefits. There used to be a strategy called "file and suspend" that allowed this, but it was eliminated by legislation in 2015. With a 3-year age gap, you might consider having your husband delay filing until closer to his FRA, while you wait until you reach 62 (when he'll be 65) to file for spousal benefits. This balances some early filing reduction with getting benefits sooner rather than later. Just remember: every year you wait (up to age 70 for retirement benefits), your monthly payments increase. But there's no advantage to waiting beyond your FRA for spousal benefits - they don't grow after you reach your FRA.

Just wanted to add that when I called the SSA about my benefits last month, I used that Claimyr service mentioned above. The 3 HOURS I spent trying to call SSA directly got me nowhere, but with Claimyr I got through in about 15 minutes. It was seriously worth it because the agent explained exactly how my conversion would work and what documents I needed to have ready. Made everything so much clearer, especially since the SSA website is so confusing about disability conversion. The video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU shows exactly how it works.

BTW dont forget bout paying taxes on ur SS benifits if ur making other money too!! My brother got hit with a big tax bill cuz he didnt know his part time job would make his SS taxable!!

One additional consideration: If you claim your own benefits now at 62, and then later switch to survivor benefits, your survivor benefit will be reduced because you're claiming survivors before your FRA. However, the reduction for survivor benefits is different (and generally more favorable) than the reduction for regular retirement benefits. At age 62, retirement benefits are reduced by about 30%, but survivor benefits are only reduced by about 17.5% (to 82.5% of PIA). This is why many financial planners suggest that if you have both options, it's often better to take the reduced benefit first and save the higher benefit for later.

quick question - does anyone know if the 82.5% gets any cost of living adjustments? or is it frozen at that amount forever?

just wondering... has anyone checked if the marriage would affect other benefits?? my friend lost her Medicare help when she remarried becuz her new husbands income counted against her!! something to think about

I just wanted to update everyone and say THANK YOU for all the helpful information! I've decided to postpone the wedding until right after my 60th birthday so I can keep my options open with the survivor benefits. I've got an appointment with my local SSA office next month to go over everything and make sure I understand all the implications. This forum has been such a lifesaver - I never would have known about the age 60 rule otherwise!