One more important thing - if you decide to take your own retirement benefit early at 62 while waiting to switch to survivor benefits at FRA, be aware that you must explicitly FILE FOR AND RESTRICT YOUR APPLICATION to retirement benefits only. Otherwise, SSA might automatically give you the higher of the two benefits, which could prevent you from using the strategy of switching later. This is one of those technical details that's incredibly important but often not explained clearly. When you do speak with an agent, specifically ask about the "restricted application" process for your situation.

Hey just wondering did you ever get through to SSA? If you do get ahold of them can you post back what they said about your case? Im in a similar situation except I was married 12 years and I'm wondering how they calculate the amount for an ex spouse.

ALSO!!! Tell your friend to check if she's getting any state-specific senior benefits in Georgia that might not be available in Alabama!!! Each state has different programs for seniors beyond Social Security!!! Georgia has better property tax exemptions for seniors than Alabama in some counties!!!

Thank you all for the helpful information! I've shared all this with my friend and she feels much better about the move now. She's going to make sure to update her address well in advance and check on her Medicare coverage options in the new location. It's good to know the actual Social Security amount won't change - that was her biggest worry. I appreciate everyone taking the time to share your experiences and knowledge!

i work at social security office front desk. bring marriage certificate with you when you apply!!! so many people forget this and have to come back. for retroactive you need to ask for it on the application (there is a specific question about it). also bring your teacher pension info that shows your current amount.

One more thing to add - make sure you understand exactly how much you'll get after GPO. The calculation is: 50% of your husband's Primary Insurance Amount MINUS (2/3 × your teacher's pension). So if your husband's PIA is $2,300, half of that is $1,150. Then if your pension is $1,875, two-thirds of that is $1,250. So $1,150 - $1,250 would mean zero benefit. But if his PIA is higher than what he receives, you might get something. The SSA can calculate this precisely for your situation.

My brother-in-law just retired and was asking about this same thing last week! Strange coincidence. He decided to just wait until full retirement age to avoid the whole earnings limit headache. Said it wasn't worth the paperwork nightmare lol.

I thought the earnings limit was like $19k? Did it go up for 2025? I need to double check if I'm calculating right for next year...

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I feel a bit better knowing this is unfortunately normal right now. I'm going to try calling early tomorrow morning, and if I can't get through, I might try that Claimyr service someone mentioned. If I'm still waiting after another 2-3 weeks, I'll contact my congressional representative's office. I'll update once I hear something!

good luck! the waiting is the worst part

My neighbor works for SSA and she told me they have internal software that shows all this but they don't give public access to it!! So frustrating!!!

Just wanted to update everyone - I just found a somewhat hidden feature in the my Social Security portal that gives more comparison options. After you log in, go to 'Plan for Retirement' (not the basic benefit calculator), then click 'Compare Retirement Options.' This tool lets you create and compare different scenarios with sliders for retirement age and future earnings. Still not a complete matrix, but much better than running one calculation at a time. Hope this helps!

Everyone forgets that Social Security payments are paid in ARREARS! This means you get your November payment in December, December payment in January, etc. So if you turn 70 in November and file then, your first payment at the higher 70-year-old rate comes in December. But the system also adds final DRCs (delayed retirement credits) in January processing. It's a weird timing thing that confuses everyone.

I think there's a misunderstanding in your post. You said you're turning 69 in September, but then talk about maximizing benefits which happens at 70. Are you planning to claim at 69 or wait until 70? If you want the absolute maximum, you need to wait until you're 70 (September 2026) to apply. For every month you claim before 70, you're leaving some potential increase on the table. Each month of delay between FRA and 70 adds about 2/3 of 1% to your benefit amount. The online calculator is probably just showing you what your benefit would be based on different claiming scenarios.

my mom lost her ss when she remarried but she was only 58 so maybe thats why?? the age thing makes sense now that i think about it

Update: I used that Claimyr service someone suggested and actually got through to SSA! The representative confirmed that I will keep my survivor benefits after remarriage since I'm over 60. She also told me I need to report the marriage within 10 days by bringing my marriage certificate to the local office or mailing a certified copy. Just wanted to thank everyone for their help! Wedding planning can continue without financial stress now. ❤️

Everyone's giving complicated answers but it's simple: You get 100% of husband's benefit if you wait till your FRA You get less if you take it early Birth year only matters because it determines your FRA (Full Retirement Age) For people born in 1960s or later FRA is 67 For people born earlier it's a bit less You also need to know if husband took benefits early himself because that might reduce what you get

my aunt had to deal with this last year and she said the local SS office gave her different info than the phone ppl!!! make sure u get everything in writing when u talk to them

One more thing - remember that once you hit your full retirement age the earnings limit goes away COMPLETELY!!! Then you can work as much as u want and make as much $ as u want with no reduction in benefits. So if ur FRA is coming up soon maybe just hang tight if ur worried

Just to clarify an important point about self-employment: While the 45-hour rule isn't relevant for survivor benefits, SSA does have a special test for self-employed people that can be applied in certain circumstances. They can evaluate if you're providing significant services to your business despite low reported income. However, this is primarily applied in situations where there's reason to suspect income manipulation - like a business owner suddenly reporting minimal income after retirement while continuing to work the same hours. For a small flower farm with modest income like yours, this is extremely unlikely to be an issue. Just keep good records, report your income honestly, and you should be fine with your survivor benefits as long as you stay under the annual earnings limit.