Thank you all for the responses! This has been incredibly helpful. I've made an appointment with SSA for next month and will specifically ask about surviving divorced spouse benefits. I'm gathering all my documents, including our marriage certificate, divorce decree, and her SSN. From what you've all shared, it sounds like I might be eligible since we were married over 10 years, even though we both remarried. I'll update once I learn more from SSA - this forum has already given me a much better starting point than I had before!

Just wanted to add that you should also ask SSA about the timing of when to claim these benefits. Since you're still working and have 3 years until FRA, you might want to understand how the earnings test works if you claim survivor benefits early (you can claim as early as 60, but at a reduced rate). Also, survivor benefits don't earn delayed retirement credits like your own retirement benefit does, so there's no advantage to waiting past your FRA to claim them. The strategy might be to claim survivor benefits at FRA and let your own retirement benefit grow until age 70 if that would result in higher lifetime benefits. Definitely worth discussing all the timing options with them!

just wondering how the appointment went?? mine was so scary but the lady was soooo nice actually!

That's wonderful news! What a huge difference between the two benefit amounts - almost double! It sounds like waiting for the higher survivor benefits at your FRA could be worth it financially, especially since you're only turning 65 in a few months. Since you mentioned health issues that kept you out of work, you might want to consider how that factors into your decision timeline. Sometimes having benefits start sooner provides peace of mind even if the amount is less. Did they give you any paperwork or deadlines for making your final decision? And congratulations on getting through what sounds like it was a stressful process!

I'm so sorry for your loss. I can completely understand your confusion about not seeing survivor benefit information on your mySocialSecurity account - this was exactly my concern when my spouse passed away two years ago. What I learned from going through this process is that the mySocialSecurity portal is really designed to show only your personal work history and retirement projections. Survivor benefits are calculated from your deceased spouse's earnings record, which exists in a separate part of their system that isn't accessible through the online portal. The fact that you already received the $255 lump-sum death payment is actually the key indicator that everything is properly set up. That payment can only be processed when SSA has successfully linked your husband's death record to your account in their system. So you can feel confident that when you're ready to apply for survivor benefits in the future, all the necessary information will be there. One thing I wish I had known earlier is that you might want to request a copy of your husband's Social Security Statement (Form SSA-7005) for your records. While you can't access it online, SSA can provide this to you as his widow, and it will show his complete earnings history that your survivor benefits will be calculated from. This can be helpful for your own financial planning, even though you won't need it until you actually apply for benefits. You're being very smart to get organized now while you have time to plan your claiming strategy. No need to torture yourself with their phone system until you're actually ready to apply!

I'm so sorry for your loss. I can understand your confusion - I went through something similar when my mom passed last year and I was helping my dad navigate the survivor benefits process. Just to echo what others have said, the mySocialSecurity portal really only shows your own personal benefits information. It's not designed to display survivor benefit eligibility or calculations, which is honestly pretty confusing for people going through this situation. Since you already received the $255 death benefit, that's actually proof that SSA has properly recorded your husband's death and linked it to your record in their system. That's the main thing you need to have in place. When you do eventually apply for survivor benefits (whether at 60 or later), you'll need to call or visit an office anyway since they don't allow online applications for survivor benefits. At that point, they'll pull up all the necessary records and calculate your benefit amount based on your husband's earnings history. You're smart to be thinking about this now even though you have several years before you'll need to make any decisions. It gives you time to understand your options and plan the optimal claiming strategy for your situation.

Since no one's mentioned it yet, there's also an actual formula you can use to get a rough idea. Your Social Security benefit is based on your Average Indexed Monthly Earnings (AIME). If you have several zero years in your 35-year calculation: 1. Every $1,200 in additional annual earnings translates to about $1 more per month in benefits for the rest of your life So if you're earning $72,000 per year as you mentioned, and replacing zeros, that's potentially adding about $60 monthly to your benefit for each year worked ($72,000 ÷ $1,200 = $60). Over a 20-year retirement, that's about $28,800 in additional benefits for each extra year you work (not counting cost of living adjustments). This is simplified, but gives you a ballpark figure to compare against your work satisfaction and other factors.

Another factor to consider is the delayed retirement credits if you're thinking about when to actually claim benefits. If you're planning to retire but wait until your Full Retirement Age to claim, you might also want to look into whether waiting even longer to claim (up to age 70) could make sense given your situation. Since you have those gaps in your work history, your benefit amount at FRA might be lower than someone with a full 35-year career. Delayed retirement credits give you an 8% increase per year for each year you delay claiming past your FRA up to age 70. So if your FRA benefit ends up being on the lower side due to those zero years, the delayed credits could be particularly valuable. You could potentially retire when you want, work part-time or consult if you need income, and still maximize your eventual Social Security benefit by waiting to claim. Just something else to factor into your overall retirement strategy!

I'm going through this exact same situation right now! Applied in December for March benefits and my account just updated to show my first payment in May. It's so stressful when you're counting on that money. From reading everyone's responses here, it sounds like this is unfortunately the new normal with SSA processing times. I'm trying to stay positive that I'll get all the back benefits I'm owed in that first payment, but the waiting is really hard when you've planned your finances around a certain timeline. Has anyone here had experience with how accurate the payment dates are once they show up in your MySocialSecurity account? Like, if it says May, should I expect it to actually arrive in May or could there be more delays?

I'm a newcomer here but dealing with a very similar situation! Applied for my Social Security retirement benefits in October 2024 with a January 2025 start date, and I'm still waiting for my first payment. My MySocialSecurity account keeps showing "processing" but no payment date yet. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful - it sounds like these delays are unfortunately very common right now. I had no idea that SSA was experiencing such a backlog. I've been getting really anxious about whether something went wrong with my application, but it seems like many of you have gone through the same thing and eventually received all your back benefits. One question for those who've already been through this process - should I be concerned that my account still doesn't show a payment date, or is that normal too? I see some of you had payment dates appear in your accounts before the actual payments arrived. Just trying to figure out if I should start making phone calls or if patience is still the best approach at this point. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences - it really helps to know we're not alone in dealing with these frustrating delays!