Quick additional note on your question about the early claiming: When you claimed survivor benefits at 64, you took a reduction from your full benefit amount. If your new husband passes away, the survivor benefit calculation from his record would be based on your age at THAT time. So if you're past your FRA when he passes away, you would get the full survivor benefit from his record (assuming it's higher than your current one).

I went through something similar last year. Remarried at 68 after being on survivor benefits for years. The SSA representative told me that each survivor benefit is calculated separately, and they'll pay you whichever one is higher. In my case, I'm still getting my first husband's benefit because it was higher than what I'd get from my second husband who passed away recently. Make sure you bring your marriage certificate when you report the marriage to SSA - they required that documentation.

i think it depends on if you retirement benefits or disability. different rules.

I went through something similar last year. The increase happened automatically, but I was surprised how small it was. I worked 5 months in 2023 making about $45k which replaced a year where I only made about $8k in the 1980s. My monthly benefit only went up by about $28. Something about how they average and index older earnings made the impact smaller than I expected. Still worth getting though!

Also remember they'll probably ask for proof of the marriage ending (divorce decree for first marriage) and proof of subsequent marriage (marriage certificate for second husband). My sister got caught in a loop where they kept asking for more documents.

Something nobody has mentioned yet - when your first husband does pass away (which I'm sorry to hear about), make sure you check if there are any children who might be eligible for benefits on his record too. My neighbor didn't realize her adult disabled son qualified for benefits on her deceased husband's record for almost a year after he died. There might be other family members eligible besides just you.

they shoulda signed ur mom up for this automatically! my parents had this exact problem and we found out they were owed like $300 more a month for years! definitely call them and see whats going on

Just to clarify something important - if your mother receives an adjustment, she may be entitled to some retroactive benefits, but it's typically limited to 6 months of back payments. This is standard policy for benefit adjustments, even if the eligibility existed for years. Also, keep in mind that increasing her benefit won't affect your father's payment in any way. One last tip: When you speak with SSA, specifically ask about the "spousal adjustment due to higher PIA of spouse" to ensure the representative understands exactly what you're inquiring about.

just wondering did you check if you can get any disability instead of regular ss? my neighbor got that when he got laid off at 61 and had some health problems. paid more than regular ss i think

One more thing to consider: since your husband is still working and 2 years younger, you might want to look at spousal benefit strategies. If you claim your own retirement benefit now, you'll be locked into that reduced amount (plus COLAs) for life. If you wait until your husband files (which would be at least 2 years from now), you might be eligible for a spousal benefit if 50% of his FRA benefit is more than your own benefit. However, because of the "deemed filing" rules that came into effect in 2016, if you file for your own benefit now, you'll be automatically deemed to have filed for spousal benefits too, even though your husband hasn't claimed yet. This means if you later become eligible for a higher spousal benefit, you'll only get the difference added to your already-reduced retirement benefit. This gets complicated quickly and really depends on your specific situation and benefit amounts, so it might be worth consulting with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security claiming strategies.

Thank you everyone for all the helpful responses. I think I understand much better now. It sounds like: 1. My wife would get my age 70 benefit amount as her survivor benefit (not my FRA amount) 2. If I pass before she reaches her FRA, she might want to wait until her FRA to claim the survivor benefit to avoid any reduction 3. Her early claiming of her own benefit doesn't penalize her survivor benefit amount This is very reassuring for our planning. I'm going to look into getting official clarification from SSA directly too, using that phone service someone mentioned if needed.

Just came back to say I called SSA today and spent TWO HOURS on the phone. Turns out I WAS getting the wrong amount all this time!!! They're going to adjust my survivor benefit to what my husband was actually receiving at 70, not his FRA amount. And they're supposed to pay me back for the difference going back 4 years. So THANK YOU to everyone in this thread because I would've never questioned this if I hadn't read these comments!

To directly answer your question about attempts - there isn't a published limit on how many unlock attempts you can make before permanent lockout, but the system does implement progressively longer temporary suspensions after multiple failed attempts. The best approach is to wait a full 24 hours, then try once more with very careful attention to all details. If that fails, you'll need to contact SSA directly. The most reliable approach is to visit a field office in person with proper identification. If that's difficult due to distance or mobility, calling is your next best option. Early morning (first 30 minutes after they open) on Wednesday or Thursday tends to have slightly shorter wait times in most regions.

Just wanted to add - make sure you're using the correct URL: ssa.gov/myaccount/ - there are unfortunately some convincing phishing sites out there. If you're getting odd error messages or the page looks different than you remember, double-check the URL carefully. And when you do get back in, I recommend setting up extra security measures like two-factor authentication if you haven't already. Makes the whole lock/unlock process much smoother in the future.

Thanks everyone for your help! I think I understand better now. The key seems to be finding out my PIA and my husband's PIA so I can compare them. It sounds like I need to find out: - My retirement benefit at age 65 (reduced) - My retirement benefit at age 70 (increased) - My survivor benefit at my FRA (67) Then I can figure out whether I should: 1. Take reduced retirement at 65, then switch to survivor at 67 OR 2. Take survivor at 67, then switch to my own at 70 I'm going to try to get an appointment at my local Social Security office and see if they can give me actual numbers. I'll also check out that Claimyr service if I can't get through. Thanks again everyone!

my cousin works for ssa and she says they have a special calculator for this exact situation but not everyone there knows how to use it. ask for the "mnth" calculation thats what its called i think

why dont they just pay everyone on the same day??? the system makes no sense

Update: I called my mortgage company and they said they can change my due date to the 25th of each month starting in February. I'll have to pay a late fee this month, but at least it's sorted going forward. Still frustrating that SSA doesn't notify people about this change though!

One more important point - since you're still working, be aware that your earnings won't affect your benefit amount once you've reached FRA (Full Retirement Age), which you have at 70. Unlike filing before FRA, there's no earnings test or benefit reduction. However, if your earnings are substantial, you may continue to increase your benefit amount slightly since SSA recalculates your benefit annually if your recent earnings are higher than some of the earnings used in your original calculation.

WAIT! Just remembered something important! When u get that retroactive payment, it'll be a separate deposit from your regular monthly payments going forward. Make SURE you set aside enough for taxes right away! I didn't and ended up scrambling. Also if it's a large amount it might affect your Medicare IRMAA surcharges for 2027 (based on 2025 income) if you're on Medicare.