To give you a complete picture: with your husband passing and your FRA approaching next year, here's the optimal path forward: 1. Resolve the overpayment issue through a payment plan or hardship waiver. 2. Keep your retirement benefits suspended until you know which will be higher - your benefit at 70 or your survivor benefit at FRA. 3. Apply for survivor benefits approximately 3-4 months before your FRA date. 4. Request a detailed calculation showing both benefits projected to age 70. 5. If your own benefit at 70 will be higher, stay on survivor benefits until 70, then switch. 6. If survivor benefits are higher, consider taking your own reduced benefit until FRA, then switching to survivors. This approach maximizes your lifetime benefits while handling the current overpayment situation.

They are separate benefits, but the SSA systems treat them as choices within your overall record. When you apply for survivor benefits, clearly state that you want to KEEP your retirement benefits suspended. Get the representative to note this in your file. Also request written confirmation of this instruction. Without being explicit about this, there is a risk they could restart your retirement benefits. Document everything - the name of the representative, date, and confirmation numbers for all communications.

Quick question - does anyone know if the 9 month requirement is 9 calendar months or exactly 270 days? My friend is in a similar situation and her SSA office gave her conflicting info about how they count it.

Update: I called SSA again today and finally got through after a 2.5 hour wait! The agent confirmed I do qualify for survivor benefits since we were married exactly 9 months. She said I can receive 100% of his benefit amount since I'm at full retirement age for survivors. I have an appointment next week to complete the application. Thank you everyone for your help and advice!

Congrats on retiring!! Im hoping to do the same in 2 years but worried about inflation eating up my savings. So hard to plan with everything always changing. Good luck!

Since you'll be 65 in April 2025, your Full Retirement Age is actually 67 (for people born in 1960 or later). Keep in mind that claiming at 65 means you'll get approximately 86.7% of your full benefit amount. Also remember that the annual earnings limit for 2025 will likely be around $23,000 if you're under FRA the entire year. Since you'll only have $15,000 in wages that count toward this limit, you should be fine even without considering the pension (which, as others have correctly noted, doesn't count toward the earnings test).

my cousin told me if you just work under the table they dont know what you earn lol. not saying i do that but just saying what she said

Thanks everyone for all the great information! Much clearer now that it's $1 withheld for every $2 earned over the limit. I'm going to call SSA to discuss my specific situation and make sure I understand how this will affect my monthly payments. Definitely don't want any surprises next year. Really appreciate all the helpful responses!

One important point that hasn't been mentioned: if your ex-wife worked enough to qualify for her own Social Security retirement benefits, she'll receive whichever is higher - her own benefit or the ex-spousal benefit (up to 50% of yours). She doesn't get both added together. This means if her own work record would give her more than 50% of your benefit amount, the ex-spousal benefit becomes irrelevant. Many people don't realize this and think they'll get their own benefit plus 50% of their ex's benefit, which isn't how it works. Also, if she does qualify for her own benefit but it's less than the ex-spousal amount, she'll receive her own benefit plus the difference to reach the higher amount.

If she was a teacher in a non-Social Security state, she may be affected by the Government Pension Offset (GPO). This could reduce or eliminate any Social Security spousal or survivor benefits she might be eligible for based on your record. The GPO typically reduces Social Security spousal benefits by two-thirds of the government pension. So if she receives a teacher's pension of $1,500 per month, her Social Security spousal benefit would be reduced by $1,000. She should contact SSA directly to understand how GPO might affect her specific situation, as this could significantly impact her benefits planning.

Update on my experience: The agent I spoke with this morning explained that they're supposed to answer all calls in queue, but sometimes their phone system has technical issues. She recommended calling first thing in the morning (they open at 8am) or trying your local office instead of the main number.

my cousin works for SSA and says they're crazy understaffed right now. they've lost like 25% of their workforce since 2010 but the number of beneficiaries keeps going up. no wonder the phones are a disaster

I honestly think it depends entirely on which office your application goes to. Some SSA offices are well-staffed and efficient, others are DISASTERS. My sister and I both applied for widow benefits within a month of each other after losing our husbands. She got approved in 3 weeks, mine took SEVEN MONTHS with the exact same documentation!! And we only live about 70 miles apart but different counties. The whole system is completely inconsistent. And don't even get me started on their website - half the time it's down for "maintenance" exactly when you need to check something important. I've had better customer service experiences at the DMV, and that's saying something!!

Quick update for anyone following this thread - got my official award letter in my SSA account message center today! So the timeline was: - Applied online in August 2025 for November 2025 benefits - Stuck at "processing" for about 3 months - Called and got application completed yesterday - Status changed to approved same day - Award letter received next day (today) So relieved to have this wrapped up before the holidays. Now I can finalize my retirement budget knowing exactly what we'll receive.

my neighbor got caught in this same situation and she said the whole thing was a waste of time. spent all that effort getting her quarters and still got basically nothing from SS. just a heads up

The ONLY reason to get those 4 quarters is MEDICARE!!! If you don't have 40 quarters you'll pay WAY more for Medicare Part A, which is normally free if you have 40 quarters. That alone is worth working a little bit more!!!

Just my 2 cents - everybody's situation is different. My wife and I decided I'd file at 62 and she'd wait til 70 since her benefit was bigger. Worked great for us, we're 15 years into retirement and no regrets. Health problems can change everything tho so dont just think about the math, think about QUALITY OF LIFE!!

Has anyone mentioned survivor benefits yet? This is HUGE in your planning! When one spouse dies, the surviving spouse basically continues with the HIGHER of the two benefit amounts. So if you delay till 70 and get say $4200/month, then pass away, your husband would get that $4200/month for the rest of HIS life (assuming it's higher than his own benefit). So even if you delay and don't live super long, your husband could benefit from your higher amount for DECADES, especially with that 3 year age difference. This is especially important with his WEP situation limiting his own benefit.

One more thing I forgot to mention - when you call back, try to use their exact terminology. Instead of just saying your daughter "needs care" or "has disabilities," be specific about the "exercise of parental control and responsibility" and that you "provide personal services, supervision and direction" - those are the exact phrases from their policy manual that they're trained to look for.

good luck!! update us after u call again! my aunt might be in same situation soon