One other important thing I forgot to mention - if she is eligible for additional spousal benefits, she'll need to actually apply for them. SSA generally doesn't automatically add these benefits even though they should. She'll need to specifically request the spousal benefit. And just to clarify something from earlier comments: If someone is receiving SSDI, they can receive spousal benefits before age 62. The age 62 requirement applies to people who are not disabled and want to claim early spousal benefits.

Tell her to get a benefit verification letter from her online my Social Security account first. She'll need that when applying for the spousal portion. Also, if she does qualify for a spousal top-up, they might owe her back pay from when her husband filed, but only if she applies within 6 months of his filing date.

one more thing i forgot to mention, didnt u pay yourself a salary from your business? that last salary from 2024 will count for 2024 earnings test if you already filed for benefits in 2024

Based on everything in this discussion, here's a summary that might help you decide: 1. The business sale proceeds won't count toward the earnings test 2. With your assets, you don't immediately need the income 3. Waiting until FRA gives you about $850 more per month for life 4. Your wife's teacher pension may complicate your overall strategy due to WEP/GPO 5. Either way, you'll need to plan for taxes on your SS benefits due to your investment income If I were in your position with substantial assets and no immediate need for cash flow, I'd seriously consider waiting until FRA for the higher benefit, especially considering potential longevity and survivor benefits.

my brother is disabled and gets ssi and my dads SS. when my mom retired they just added everything up and divided it and he still got 50%. they don't add them togther for more money they just pick the higher one.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet: if your son is receiving benefits as a disabled adult child (DAC) on your husband's record, and your PIA is higher, when you file for retirement, his benefit will automatically be recalculated based on your record instead. However, there's an important timing issue to be aware of. If you file for reduced retirement benefits before your FRA, and your son's benefit switches to your record, his benefit would also be reduced proportionally. If you wait until your FRA to file, his benefit would be the full 50% of your PIA. This is one of those situations where waiting until your FRA might be significantly beneficial for both of you, depending on the difference between your and your husband's PIAs.

The whole system is SO CONFUSING on purpose they want people to give up trying to get benefits they deserve!!!! When I called SSA about my retirement they couldn't even explain my own benefits clearly and gave different answers everytime I called!!!! Good luck with your surgery though knee replacements are much better now than they used to be my uncle was walking in 6 weeks

To address your original question from another angle: if you hadn't started collecting retirement benefits yet, and your disability was expected to last 12+ months, applying for SSDI might have made financial sense. SSDI payments are roughly equivalent to your full retirement age benefit, even if you're not at FRA yet. For example, if your full retirement age benefit would be $2,000 at age 67, but you took early retirement at 63 receiving perhaps $1,600, SSDI would have paid closer to the $2,000 amount. For future reference for others reading this thread: it's sometimes advantageous to apply for SSDI rather than taking early retirement if you have a qualifying disability.

good luck dealing with the ssa!! took me 3 months to get my direct deposit setup right and i still got one paper check even after they said it was all fixed. the whole system is a mess

Update on my situation - I did end up using Claimyr to get through to SSA (took about 10 minutes instead of hours), and the agent told me that my direct deposit information was actually IN their system already from my online attempt, but it was stuck in a 'pending review' status. Apparently this happens sometimes when the online form completion doesn't fully process. The agent was able to verify my banking details and approve it right away over the phone. Might be worth checking if you're in a similar situation!

When I was deciding between retroactive benefits or waiting until 70, I requested what's called a "PEBES statement" (now called a Social Security Statement) from two different filing dates so I could actually SEE the difference in writing. They should be able to generate these for you showing exactly what your monthly amount would be under both scenarios. This made the decision much clearer for me than trying to understand verbal explanations.

my brother took the retro $ and regrets it now. hes getting $240 less EVERY MONTH for the rest of his life bc of that decision. think loooong term!!!!

I just remembered something else!!! Make SURE you ask about any LUMP SUM DEATH BENEFIT when you apply!!! My friend almost missed out on the $255 death payment because no one at SSA told her about it - she had to specifically ask. They don't automatically tell you everything you're eligible for!!

After reading through all these comments, I think your best approach is to: 1. Schedule an appointment with SSA (either by phone or in-person) 2. Apply for survivor benefits regardless of potential GPO impact 3. Request a detailed calculation showing how GPO affects your specific case 4. Also request a computation of your own future retirement benefit at 70, accounting for WEP 5. Make your decision based on these personalized calculations Many people in your situation find that even with GPO, they might receive a small survivor benefit, which can provide some income between 60 and 70 while your own benefit grows with delayed retirement credits. The key is getting accurate calculations based on your specific earnings history rather than general advice.

To clarify on the lump-sum election method - you don't actually file amended returns. Instead, your tax preparer will do calculations showing what your tax would have been in previous years if the benefits were received then. Then they compare that to your regular calculation and use whichever method results in lower taxes. IRS Publication 915 explains this, but it's definitely worth paying a tax professional who understands Social Security taxation.

One more thing to consider - if your backpay pushed you into a higher tax bracket, you might want to look into making a last-minute contribution to a traditional IRA (if you had any earned income) to reduce your AGI. This could potentially lower how much of your SS benefits are taxable. Talk to your tax advisor about this strategy.

One thing nobody mentioned yet - if you're providing care for a disabled adult child who gets DAC benefits, you should also look into whether you qualify for the Medicaid Caregiver Exemption which protects some of your assets if you ever need long-term care yourself. It's related to your caregiver status, not directly to the Social Security benefits, but it's another protection worth knowing about.

wait i just realized...what happens to ur CIC benefits when ur ex spouse dies? does everything switch to survivors or what? anyone know??

my mom went thru this last year. make sure ur wife checks if survivor benfits would be higher than spousal! that's a whole different calculation and GPO affects it differently sometimes.

To summarize for clarity: 1. Your wife cannot claim spousal benefits until you file for your retirement benefits 2. Due to GPO, any spousal benefits she'd receive would be reduced by 2/3 of her government pension 3. When you do file at 70, SSA will automatically determine if adding a spousal benefit would increase her total benefit 4. If her own reduced benefit already exceeds what she'd get as your spouse after GPO, no additional amount would be paid 5. Delaying until 70 is still valuable for potential survivor benefits later Regarding GPO and survivor benefits: The same 2/3 pension offset applies, but since survivor benefits can be up to 100% of your benefit (versus 50% for spousal), there's more likely to be something left after the offset.