Update: I finally got through to SSA after trying different times of day (Wednesday at 4pm seemed to have shorter wait times). The agent confirmed that I can indeed claim the full survivor benefit at 66 and 10 months instead of waiting until 67 and 2 months. They also said I absolutely need the death certificate - they won't process the claim without it. I'm going to request one from the county where he passed away. Thanks everyone for your help!

MAKE SURE you keep copies of EVERYTHING you send them!!! My friend had her original marriage certificate LOST by SSA and it was a nightmare to replace!!! They deny everything when they make mistakes!!!

Before making your final decision, I'd recommend calling SSA and requesting an appointment with a claims specialist who can run personalized calculations for your specific situation. They can show you exactly what your benefit would be under different scenarios. One more important factor to consider: taxation. If you're drawing both your retirement and eventually survivor benefits, and have other income sources, up to 85% of your Social Security benefits could be taxable. This sometimes affects the math on which strategy is optimal.

When I needed specific benefit information about survivor benefits last year, I tried for 3 weeks to get through to SSA on the phone with no luck. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got connected to an agent in minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent was able to calculate my potential survivor benefit in different scenarios, which really helped me make an informed decision.

My uncle got an inheritance last year and he said the funeral home actually reported it to social security and his checks stopped coming for 2 months while they sorted it out. He was on regular retirement too. Maybe it depends on the state?

dont 4get about probate makin it public too. my dads will went thru probate an took 9 months to get the $$$

Anyone else notice how they pass a law with "Fairness" in the title and it ends up being totally UNFAIR to thousands of seniors? Classic government doublespeak.

Quick update: SSA just published a new form specifically for Fairness Act GPO/WEP administrative waivers - Form SSA-545-F. It's streamlined for exactly this situation and specifically cites the Emergency Message guidelines. If you haven't submitted your waiver yet, use this form instead of the general waiver form. You can download it from ssa.gov or pick it up at your local office.

Wait i just realized i might be wrong in my first comment. thinking back, i think my payment didnt actually change dates when i switched benefits. what happened was they skipped a month during the transition so it FELT like the date changed. there was like a 6 week gap between payments with no warning and thats why all my bills were late. so maybe the actual day of the month stayed the same but they still messed me up

Just to add something important: make sure you verify the switch is actually beneficial for you. At 65, you'll face a reduction for claiming your own retirement before your Full Retirement Age (66+10 months if you were born in 1959). Calculate carefully whether the higher benefit amount, even with the reduction, exceeds your survivor benefit. Sometimes it's better to wait until your FRA to make the switch. The SSA representatives can help you compare the exact numbers.

One more thing to consider about your January 2025 start date - since you're reaching FRA in December 2024, your benefit amount will be 100% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Just make sure your application actually shows January 2025 as your start month, not December 2024. Starting even one month before FRA would permanently reduce your benefit by about 0.56%.

my aunt says she got her first check in the mail instead of direct deposit is that still a thing?

After considering the earnings test information and your continued employment until August 2025, here's what I'd suggest: Call Social Security and have them calculate your break-even point with WEP factored in. Then make your decision based on your health/longevity expectations and financial needs. Also, file a

Thank you for this detailed advice! I didn't know about the

Is anyone else annoyed that the SS website doesn't make this easier????! They have millions of dollars for their website but can't add a simple calculator that shows month by month increases??? It's like they WANT to make things confusing for us!

One more thing to consider: If you start your benefits now instead of waiting until 70, you'll receive approximately 36 months of payments (assuming you're around 67 now) that you'd otherwise miss out on. That's a significant amount of money that could be invested or used to enhance your quality of life now. With your family longevity, you'll likely surpass the break-even point. But remember that money received earlier has more utility value and investment potential than the same amount received later. The optimal strategy often lies somewhere in between the extremes. Perhaps starting at 68 or 69 gives you a reasonable compromise between maximizing your monthly benefit and not leaving too much money on the table.

Not to get off topic but make sure your brother applies for both SSDI and SSI at the same time. I didn't know you could do both and it delayed my benefits by months. The SSA should automatically screen for both but sometimes they don't.

An update based on the questions - yes, being in different states is not a problem for either the SSA-3288 or SSA-1696 forms. For the SSA-1696, you don't need to show ID when submitting the form, but you will need your brother's signature on it. The easiest approach would be to: 1. Help him start his disability application online 2. List yourself as a contact person on that application 3. Submit the SSA-3288 form to allow information sharing 4. Only pursue the SSA-1696 if you need to formally represent him later This gives you the ability to help with forms and communicate with SSA on his behalf without the more formal representative relationship that's typically used for attorneys or appeal situations.

i didn't withhold taxes when i started getting ss last year. just made sure to save enough each month for the tax bill. worked fine for me but might be harder for some people to remember to save.

btw my mom said after she got hit with that tax bill she filled out that w4v form thing everyone's talking about and faxed it to the local ss office. took like 2 months to actually start working tho so do it asap!!!