A critical factor here is whether your son continued to be eligible for benefits as a student after turning 18. Based on your timeline, it sounds like he did qualify under the "full-time student" provisions that allow benefits to continue until graduation or age 19 (whichever comes first). If the sole reason for the overpayment is his mother's medical improvement, and not any issue with his student status, then your waiver argument should focus heavily on the fact that he had no way of knowing about his mother's changed medical status - especially given that she hasn't been involved in his life. The technical term for what you want to emphasize is that he was "without fault" in causing the overpayment. The SSA's own policy states that individuals are without fault when: "The overpaid individual relied on information from SSA that turned out to be incorrect." Since SSA continued sending the payments, this should apply to your son's situation.

I'm a social worker who helps families navigate SSA issues, and I want to emphasize something important that hasn't been fully addressed yet - the timing of when your son turned 18 versus when the overpayment period began. Since your son was still a minor in April 2023 when the overpayment allegedly started, there's a strong argument that he cannot be held responsible for payments made while he was under 18. Minors have legal protections specifically because they cannot be expected to understand complex benefit rules or monitor their parents' medical status. I'd recommend adding this to your waiver documentation: highlight that he was 17 years old when the overpayment began and had no legal capacity to understand or act on information about his mother's disability status even if he had somehow received it. Also, make sure to document his current financial situation thoroughly - full-time student status, part-time income, basic living expenses. SSA considers educational expenses as legitimate financial hardship factors. Include documentation of tuition, books, transportation, and any other school-related costs. The fact that you're helping with some expenses actually strengthens the hardship argument rather than weakening it - it shows his income alone isn't sufficient to cover basic needs, let alone an $8,000+ debt.

Has anyone used the Ticket to Work program? My vocational counselor keeps suggesting it but im not sure if its a trap to get me off benefits.

As someone who's been navigating SSDI work rules for a while, I wanted to add that it's also worth keeping track of your "substantial work" months versus your Trial Work Period months. TWP months are any month you earn over $1,040 (for 2025), while substantial work is earning over the SGA limit of $1,550. You can have up to 9 TWP months total, but going over SGA repeatedly is what actually triggers benefit termination. So even if your PTO pushes you over $1,040 in a month, it might count as a TWP month but not necessarily threaten your benefits if you stay under $1,550. The distinction is important for long-term planning!

The law won't be fully phased in until 2026, so no one has received the full benefit yet. Even then, remember that the spousal benefit is still subject to the standard offset rules - it's not automatically 50% of your spouse's benefit if you have your own retirement benefit too. The WEP/GPO elimination just means your pension won't reduce your SS benefits anymore.

I'm going through this exact same situation with my wife who was a state employee for 30 years! We applied for her spousal benefits in January and got a number that made no sense to us either. After reading all these responses, I think I understand better now - we weren't aware of the phased implementation at all. The SSA representative we spoke with just said "this is what you qualify for" without any explanation of the transition period or how they calculated it. I'm definitely going to request that detailed benefit calculation that several people mentioned here. It's frustrating that they don't automatically provide this breakdown when the rules are so complex during this transition period. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and explanations - this thread has been more helpful than our actual conversation with SSA!

Update: I called my daughter's high school and they were super helpful! Turns out they get these requests all the time. I just need to bring the form to the main office with her student ID number, and they'll complete it on the spot. Going to do that tomorrow and then submit it to SSA. Thank you all for convincing me to follow through with this. Will post another update when I find out how much additional benefit she's entitled to!

This is such a great example of why it's worth following up on these SSA contacts even when they seem confusing! I had a similar situation with my son where I almost ignored a letter from SSA because it seemed like a mistake. Turns out they owed us over $1,800 in back benefits I never knew we were entitled to. The paperwork was a pain, but totally worth it. Good luck with the school visit tomorrow - sounds like you're all set!

I'm jealous you get the 3rd! It comes earlier than my payment on the 4th Wednesday. I have to budget really carefully at the end of each month. 😩

Just wanted to add that if you're ever unsure about your payment date in the future, you can also check the SSA payment calendar they publish online each year. It shows all the payment dates for the entire year, including adjustments for holidays and weekends. Really helps with budgeting and planning ahead! Also, most banks will show pending deposits a day or two before they actually hit your account, so you can usually see it coming even if there are slight delays.