My sister waited 12 weeks and turns out they'd been sending mail to her old address even though she updated it online! Definitely call and check if you haven't heard anything by week 5. Sometimes there's a simple issue holding things up that you can easily fix if you knew about it.

The SSA's official guidance states that you should allow up to 6 weeks for processing a retirement benefit application. Some factors that affect processing time: - Accuracy and completeness of your application - Whether all earnings are properly posted to your record - Verification of non-covered employment (government jobs with pensions) - Whether you're applying right at FRA, early, or after FRA - Regional SSA office workloads If your application is straightforward, 3-4 weeks is typical. More complex situations can take 6-8 weeks. Anything beyond 8 weeks usually indicates a specific issue that needs resolution.

wait im confused... if your spouse dies dont you get survivr benefits from social security??? my aunt got her husbands ss after he passed away and it was more than hers

One more thing to consider: if you haven't retired yet, you might want to delay your Social Security application until after your ex passes away (if that's potentially on the horizon). That way, the WEP reduction would be calculated using your higher pension amount from the start. This could potentially be better than having your SS benefit established and then reduced later.

I had to call the SSA about 30 times before I could get through to ask this EXACT question when I retired from teaching!!! So frustrating. Anyway, they told me to apply 3 months before I wanted benefits to start and to make my benefit start date the same month as my pension. Made everything smoother with paperwork. But omg the WEP reduction was a shock even though I knew it was coming!! Try using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to SSA quickly - I found it in a similar thread here when I was pulling my hair out trying to reach someone at Social Security. You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me hours of redial frustration when I had follow-up questions about my WEP calculation.

side note but im still mad about WEP. why should we get penalized for choosing to teach? its so unfair when we paid into SS from summer jobs and before teaching.

Wow I didn't know this was a thing! I wonder if my mom could get this. Her ex (my dad) died last year and she's struggling on her small retirement check. Would this work for her too?

Thank you all for the extremely helpful information! I'm definitely going to pursue this. I'm making a list of the documents I need to gather and will try calling SSA next week. I'll update this thread once I find out what I'm eligible for. Keeping my fingers crossed that this will give my monthly income a boost!

I applied for SS at 65 exactly like you're planning. Went ahead and did Medicare A and B together because my neighbor told me horror stories about penalties. For prescriptions (Part D), I spent about 2 weeks comparing plans on Medicare.gov before picking one. They have this tool where you enter all your medications and it shows which plan is cheapest for YOUR specific drugs. Highly recommend taking the time to use that tool!

One more important point: If you're in California, you might want to look into Medicare Advantage plans as an alternative to Original Medicare (Parts A+B) + Part D + Medigap. Many Advantage plans in California offer good prescription coverage built-in, plus extras like vision and dental. The enrollment periods are the same as for Original Medicare. Whichever path you choose, the most important thing is to make your Part B and Part D decisions within your Initial Enrollment Period to avoid lifelong penalties. You can always change plans during Annual Enrollment Periods, but those initial enrollment deadlines are critical.

one more thing to remember is that survivor benefits at 62 are reduced! did they talk to u about waiting til ur full retirement age? might get a lot more money if u can wait

The REAL problem is that the SSA's systems are outdated and the different offices don't communicate. I've had THREE different answers from THREE different representatives about the same question. Your best bet is to DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. Write down who you talked to today, the time, what they told you, and any confirmation numbers. Trust me, when they inevitably mess something up, you'll need this information to fight them!!!

My sister waited TEN MONTHS for her first check because she didn't submit all the required documentation with her application!!! Make sure you have everything ready - birth certificate, tax returns, marriage/divorce papers, direct deposit info. The SSA website has a checklist.

One more tip: When you apply, SSA will ask if you want benefits to start at age 62 or if you want to specify a later month. If you select age 62, they'll automatically start your benefits at the earliest possible month - which is actually the month AFTER you turn 62. Benefits are paid in arrears, so your October payment covers September benefits. If you apply 3-4 months before your birthday as recommended, everything should process in time for you to receive your first payment in October. The online application is generally the fastest method.

You've got it exactly right. The only other thing to add is that the SSA will automatically pay her the higher of either her own retirement benefit or the divorced spouse benefit (up to 50% of your PIA). She'll only receive the divorced spouse benefit if it's higher than her own retirement benefit.

Perfect, thanks again! I feel much better understanding how this works now. I appreciate everyone taking time to explain.

wait im confused... i thought DAC benefits were better than SSI? why would u want him to go back to SSI? my friend gets DAC and its way more $$ than SSI was

UPDATE: Thank you everyone for all the advice! I met with a benefits counselor at our local Center for Independent Living yesterday. She explained that my son could work part-time staying under the TWP threshold ($1,110/month) without immediately risking his benefits. We worked out that he could safely work about 20 hours per week at the current minimum wage and still be ok. The grocery store manager is willing to strictly limit his hours to stay under this amount. We're still waiting to get through to SSA to confirm all this (will try that Claimyr service!), but I feel much better having a clearer understanding of how this works. The benefits counselor is also going to help us create a reporting system to make sure we document everything properly to avoid any problems later.

Just to add to whats already been said - I know with my parents situation my mom gets a small "top off" because her own SS benefit was really low compared to my dads. But thats only because her own benefit was tiny. From what your saying your SSDI is already pretty high so you probably wont get anything extra when he files.

There's a key point I want to clarify here. When your husband files for Social Security retirement benefits (whether at FRA or age 70), you could be eligible for auxiliary benefits as his spouse. However, the maximum spousal benefit is 50% of his PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) at his Full Retirement Age. Since you're already receiving your own SSDI benefit of $2,948/month, you would only receive additional spousal benefits if 50% of your husband's PIA exceeds your current SSDI amount. For high earners reaching the maximum Social Security wage base ($168,600 in 2024, higher in future years), the maximum PIA for someone reaching FRA in 2024 is approximately $3,822. Half of that would be $1,911 - still less than your current benefit. Even with your husband's high income and maximum contributions, it's unlikely that 50% of his PIA would exceed your current SSDI benefit. Therefore, your benefit amount would likely remain unchanged when he files.