As someone who works in retirement planning, I want to add one more consideration that hasn't been mentioned yet - the potential impact of Medicare decisions on your overall strategy. Since you're planning to take SS at 62, you'll still need to wait until 65 for Medicare eligibility. Make sure you factor in health insurance costs for those 3 years (62-65) when calculating whether taking benefits early makes financial sense. Also, once you're on Medicare, if you're receiving Social Security benefits, your Medicare Part B premiums will be automatically deducted from your monthly SS payment. This won't affect your survivor benefit calculation later, but it's good to know for budgeting purposes. Your strategy is solid, but healthcare costs during early retirement can be significant, so just make sure that's part of your overall financial picture when you file at 62.

I wanted to add something that might be helpful for your planning - make sure to consider how potential changes to Social Security might affect your strategy over the next few years. While your plan is solid under current rules, there's always talk in Washington about reforms to Social Security funding, and changes could potentially affect benefit calculations or retirement ages for people who haven't started collecting yet. That said, your strategy of taking reduced benefits at 62 and switching to survivor benefits at FRA is well-established under current law and has been available for decades. The key advantage is that you're locking in some guaranteed income starting at 62, which provides security regardless of what future policy changes might occur. Also, since you mentioned your husband is still working part-time while collecting benefits, make sure you both understand how his continued earnings might affect his benefit amount through delayed retirement credits or recalculation of his benefit. Any increases to his benefit would also increase your potential survivor benefit later. Your approach of taking early benefits given your family health history and the significant age gap makes a lot of sense. Sometimes the "bird in the hand" approach with Social Security is more valuable than trying to optimize for maximum theoretical benefits that you might not live to collect.

I'm so sorry you're dealing with this confusing and frustrating situation! The remarriage before age 60 rule is truly one of Social Security's most poorly communicated policies, and your story highlights exactly why this needs better public education. From everything shared in this thread, it sounds like you now have a clear understanding of your situation: the remarriage before 60 permanently disqualified you from your first husband's survivor benefits, and if your current husband passes away, you'd receive the higher of your current benefit or his survivor benefit (100% of what he was receiving at his death since you're past full retirement age). One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned yet: when you do speak with an SSA representative, consider asking about the "file and suspend" history for your current husband. Even though he claimed at 62, there might be nuances in how his benefit was calculated that could affect the eventual survivor amount. Also, ask if there are any cost-of-living adjustments or other factors that might have increased his benefit amount since he first claimed. The Claimyr service really does sound like your best bet for actually reaching someone who can review your complete file. The phone wait times at SSA are absolutely brutal, and having a service that waits for you is a game-changer. Best of luck getting the detailed answers you deserve - and thank you for sharing your experience here. It's helping educate others about these critical but hidden rules!

I'm really sorry you're going through this frustrating situation! Your story is unfortunately very common - the age 60 remarriage rule catches so many people off guard because it's just not well publicized. One thing that might help when you do get through to an SSA representative is to ask them to walk through your complete benefit timeline and verify that all your earnings records are accurate, especially from the periods when you were receiving survivor benefits for your children in the 1990s. Sometimes there are small discrepancies in old records that can affect calculations. Also, since both you and your current husband claimed at 62, it's worth asking about how cost-of-living adjustments have affected his benefit amount over the years - this could impact what you'd receive as a survivor benefit if something happened to him. The system really should require some kind of Social Security impact disclosure before major life events like remarriage! At least now you have a much clearer picture of your options going forward. That Claimyr service others mentioned sounds like a lifesaver for actually getting through to someone who can review your specific situation. Good luck!

Has anyone here applied for spousal benefits if they're divorced? I heard it's possible but not sure about the details.

@CyberNinja Yes, you can apply online! Go to ssa.gov and look for "Apply for Benefits" - they have an online application for spousal benefits. It's actually pretty straightforward and you can save your progress if you need to take a break. Just make sure you have all those documents that @Chloe Taylor mentioned ready to upload. Way easier than sitting on hold for hours!

This is exactly why I love this community! I'm 65 and just started getting Social Security last year, so I haven't dealt with the 1099 yet, but this thread is incredibly educational. The fact that Medicare premiums show up as "work deductions" is absolutely ridiculous - no wonder so many people panic! I'm bookmarking this entire discussion for when I get my first 1099 next year. It's clear the SSA needs to completely overhaul their form language. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and helping each other out. This is the kind of real-world knowledge you just can't get from official government websites!

I'm new to this community and just wanted to say how incredibly helpful this entire discussion has been! I'm 63 and planning to apply for Social Security in a couple years, so I'm trying to learn as much as I can about what to expect. The fact that Medicare premiums show up as "work deductions" on the SSA-1099 is something I never would have known without reading this thread. It's absolutely mind-boggling that the SSA uses such confusing terminology - you'd think after decades of people having this same panic every tax season, they would have updated the form by now! Thank you to everyone who shared their knowledge and experiences here. This is exactly the kind of practical, real-world information that makes this community so valuable. I'll definitely be referring back to this discussion when I start dealing with these forms myself.

The mystery is solved! Based on all the discussion here, it's definitely your severance payment that triggered this. I went through the exact same thing last year. Here's what I learned: SSA has up to 3 years to make adjustments when new earnings information comes in, and severance payments often take months to show up in their system because employers report them separately from regular wages. Your $15K severance + part-time earnings puts you over the annual limit, so they're recovering the overpayment. When you appeal, ask for a "complete earnings test worksheet" showing exactly which months and amounts they're using in their calculation. Also request written confirmation of your full retirement age date when the earnings test stops applying. The good news is any benefits withheld due to the earnings test will be credited back to you at FRA through increased monthly payments. It's frustrating but totally fixable once you get the documentation!

I'm so glad you got to the bottom of this! Your situation is a perfect example of why SSA's notices can be so confusing - they don't always explain the "why" behind adjustments. For anyone else reading this thread who might face similar issues, here are the key takeaways: 1) Severance payments DO count as wages for Social Security purposes and are subject to the earnings test if you're under FRA, 2) It can take months for employers to report these payments to SSA, causing delayed adjustments, 3) Always request specific documentation in your appeal - phrases like "detailed earnings test calculation" and "complete breakdown of benefit computation factors" get better results than general complaints. Sofia, make sure to keep copies of everything you submit with your appeal, and don't hesitate to follow up if you don't hear back within their stated timeframe. Good luck with the process!