Regarding Medicare enrollment: You'll need to complete a form called "Request for Employment Information" (CMS-L564) from your husband's employer when you apply. This proves you had qualifying health coverage and helps avoid late enrollment penalties. You can apply for Medicare through SSA up to 3 months before you need coverage to start. Also important: Since you'll both be transitioning to Medicare at the same time, you each need to complete your own enrollment. Your husband's retirement doesn't automatically enroll you, even though you're both on his employer plan currently.

One more thing to consider - if your husband starts SS benefits in October but continues working, he'll still be paying FICA taxes on his earnings which slightly increases his benefit amount through something called the Annual Earnings Test Recalculation. SSA automatically recalculates his benefit each year to account for additional earnings. So he could see a small bump in benefits after he fully retires. Most people don't know about this little bonus!

just wondering what kind of repairs ur doing with the 18k? i need to redo my bathroom but getting quotes for like 30k!!

One more thing to be aware of - you mentioned you're 65. When you reach your Full Retirement Age (66 or 67 depending on birth year), you might want to look into whether you qualify for retirement benefits on your own record. Sometimes people can get higher benefits by switching from survivor benefits to their own retirement benefits (or vice versa). It's worth checking with SSA about this when you reach FRA.

You should be fine! I read somewhere that they're increasing those tax thresholds soon anyway.

One more thing to consider - if you're concerned about exceeding income thresholds, you might want to look into whether contributing to a traditional IRA or 401(k) makes sense for your situation. Those contributions can lower your adjusted gross income, which might help keep you under certain thresholds. It's worth discussing with a tax professional who understands how retirement accounts interact with Social Security taxation.

I was in almost exactly your situation last year! I took retirement at 62, then got MUCH worse health-wise at 63. My doctor actually suggested I apply for SSDI since I had to stop working completely. The phone interview was mostly gathering info and was less stressful than I expected. The thing nobody told me was how LONG the whole process would take. It was almost 5 months from my phone interview until I got the decision letter. Then it took another month for the payment adjustment to actually happen. So be prepared to wait... a lot. Oh, and having all your medical records and doctor contact info ready really helps speed things up. And don't get discouraged if they deny you the first time - something like 70% of applications get denied initially. I had to appeal but eventually got approved.

Honestly I wouldn't even bother applying for SSDI if you're already getting retirement. My brother-in-law tried this exact thing and got denied TWICE even though he literally can't walk without a walker now. The whole system is RIGGED against us. They make it impossible to get approved unless you hire a lawyer who takes a huge chunk of your backpay. It's all a scam!

One more important point: While any benefits withheld due to the earnings test are not lost forever. When your wife reaches full retirement age, SSA will recalculate her benefit amount to credit back the months when benefits were withheld. This means her monthly benefit will permanently increase at FRA to account for the months she didn't receive benefits due to the earnings test. Many people don't realize this and think withheld benefits are just lost.

Not to get off topic but make sure ur checking the tax implications to! When I retired at 63 I had SS + part time work and got surprised by how social security is taxed when u have other income. Up to 85% of benefits can be taxable if ur over certain thresholds.

AM I THE ONLY ONE who thinks its RIDICULOUS that we have to jump through all these hoops?? The SSA KNOWS when we reach FRA. They KNOW they've been reducing our benefits. They KNOW when the earnings test should stop applying. WHY do we have to call them and REMIND them to do their jobs!?!? I've been fighting with them for 3 MONTHS over my husband's SSI/SSDI mixup and can't get ANYONE to help!!

UPDATE: I finally got through to SSA! The agent confirmed there was an error in my case. Apparently, they had me coded incorrectly in their system, which prevented the automatic recalculation at FRA. They're fixing it now and said I should receive the retroactive adjustment within 30-60 days. The agent said the back payment will be for all reduced benefits from June 2024 (my FRA month) through now. Thank you all for encouraging me to keep pushing on this!

My wife and I both filed for SS last year. Mine took 4 weeks, hers took 9 weeks. Same day, same office. Makes no sense! But we both got our payments on time starting in Feb 2024. Don't worry too much yet.

I'm going through exactly the same thing right now! Applied Nov 15 for Feb 1 start date and nothing yet. Haven't slept well in weeks worrying about it. Did you upload your birth certificate and marriage license when you applied? I'm worried because I didn't have those documents scanned and ready when I filled out the application.

Update on the ineligible child allocation: Make sure when you contact SSA that you have proof of your son's relationship to you (birth certificate) and proof that he lives in your household. They'll also need to verify he doesn't have income of his own that would reduce his allocation. If he does have any income, they subtract that from the $522 allocation amount. One more tip: When you request the reconsideration, also ask them to continue the original SSI payment amount while the reconsideration is pending. You need to specifically request this within 10 days of the notice date.

Is your son also disabled? Does he get any other benefits? Sometimes that affects the calculations too and makes everything even more confusing! My daughter got SSI but when my son started getting a small survivor benefit after his dad died, they had to recalculate everything and it was a nightmare trying to understand their math.

my neihgbor said be careful because if you take ss early it might effect your medicare costs later?? something about IRMAA or whatever its called. anyone know about this??

One important thing nobody has mentioned: if you're providing care for your disabled husband and elderly parents, you might want to look into whether your state offers any paid family caregiver programs through Medicaid. Many states have programs where family members can get paid (typically minimum wage) for providing care that would otherwise require a professional caregiver. This would give you some income now and help build up your Social Security credits for future benefits. Regarding your original questions: 1. Yes, you can claim spousal benefits on your husband's SSDI record 2. His SSDI will automatically convert to retirement benefits at his full retirement age 3. The amount typically stays the same during this conversion 4. Taking your own benefit early will reduce it permanently, but shouldn't affect spousal benefits you might be eligible for

One last important point: The earnings limit only affects your benefits while you're under FRA. Once you reach FRA, SSA will recalculate your benefit amount and give you credit for months they withheld benefits due to excess earnings. So even if you lose some benefits due to working, you'll eventually get the money back in the form of a higher monthly benefit starting at FRA. It's not a true "penalty" - more like a deferral of benefits.

Ugh, all these rules make my head hurt!! I'm 63 and just trying to figure out if I should keep working or not. Why does social security have to be so COMPLICATED?? Every time I think I understand something, there's another rule or exception!