just wondering, does your ex know youre applying for this? do they notify him or anything? my ex would freak out if he knew i was getting money based on his record lol

make sure you bring EVERYTHING to your appointment!!! birth certificate, SS card, marriage license, divorce papers, tax returns, ID, everything!!! my friend forgot her divorce decree and had to reschedule and waited another 6 weeks for an appointment it was a nightmare

A quick tip: When you call or visit SSA, specifically ask for a "TECHNICAL EXPERT" who specializes in WEP/GPO cases. Regular claims representatives often don't fully understand these complex provisions. A technical expert can provide a detailed, written explanation of your benefit calculation. Also, while it doesn't apply to your current situation, I want to mention for others reading this thread: If you're affected by GPO, there's something called the "Last Day of Employment" exception. If you were eligible for your government pension before July 1, 2004, and your last day of government employment was before July 1, 2004, you might be exempt from GPO. Always worth checking if this applies to your situation.

Based on all the information you've shared, here's my analysis of what might be happening: 1. Your own benefit may be correctly reduced by WEP (unless you qualify for the 30-year exception) 2. Your husband's PIA is likely lower than his current benefit amount 3. Your spousal benefit is being reduced by GPO The formula should be: Your WEP-reduced benefit + [max(0, (50% of husband's PIA - 2/3 of your pension))] If the amount in the parentheses is negative, you get nothing additional from the spousal benefit. The fact that you're getting some spousal addition means that 50% of your husband's PIA is more than 2/3 of your pension, but the difference is small. My recommendation: Request a "PEBES" (Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement) and a detailed calculation of your WEP and GPO adjustments. Then make an appointment with a technical expert at SSA to review everything.

quick question - is anyone here sure if medicare affects this? i think i remember something about signing up for medicare at 65 changing some rules?

One more thing I forgot to mention - make sure you have your appointment SET UP with SSA *before* you reach 66/6 months! They don't automatically start sending you survivor benefits on your birthday! I learned this the hard way and lost a month of payments because I didn't apply in time. The SSA makes EVERYTHING more complicated than it needs to be!!!!

One additional point: When planning for survivor benefits, remember that your wife will need to actually apply for them - they don't automatically switch over. She would need to contact Social Security within 30 days of your passing to avoid any gaps in payment. And as someone else mentioned, she'll need your death certificate, marriage certificate, and her ID to complete the application. Also, your current benefit estimates from SSA might change slightly before you actually retire, so keep that in mind when planning.

ALSO!!! Please keep copies of your annual Social Security statements somewhere your wife can find them!!! My husband's final benefit amount was $75 less per month than what he told me it would be and I had no way to verify because I couldn't find his statements anywhere. SSA just told me to accept what they calculated!!!

just call ssa and ASK them what to do!!!! why is everyone making this so COMPLICATED

If your sister is still in high school and under 19, she's in the sweet spot for eligibility. For the name change question, I submitted a simple statement listing my birth name and current name due to marriage. No problems with that approach. The key is making sure you submit ALL required documentation together: death certificate (certified copy), birth certificates for all applicants, possibly marriage certificates, etc. Missing documentation will delay the process significantly.

My brain hurts trying to understand all this lol. But I do know that the SSA workers are SUPER OVERWORKED so sometimes they don't have time to look into complicated cases. I would definitely try again and maybe go in person like others have said. Phone calls are useless for complicated stuff!!

One more important point that hasn't been addressed: Your friend mentioned her first husband was on disability when he died. This means his SSDI benefit amount would have already been calculated before his death, making it easier to determine what the survivor benefit would be with COLAs applied. She should request what's called a "Survivor Benefit Estimate" from both deceased spouses and compare them to her current benefit. If either would be higher, she can switch. The fact that the SSA representative dismissed her quickly suggests they either: 1. Didn't understand the full complexity of her case 2. Didn't check both deceased spouses' records with COLAs applied 3. Saw something specific that would disqualify her, but didn't explain it properly Definitely worth following up with a scheduled appointment. Make sure to bring: - Marriage certificates for both marriages - Death certificates for both husbands - Any old benefit award letters she might have kept - Her own Social Security statement showing current benefits Persistence often pays off with these complex cases.

Thank you everyone for the helpful advice! I'm definitely going to pursue this correction right away. I'll try to get the wage transcript from the IRS, gather my tax returns and pay stubs, and make an appointment at my local SSA office. The potential $300+ monthly difference is definitely worth fighting for, especially considering that's thousands of dollars every year for the rest of my life. I'll look into Claimyr too if I have trouble getting through on the phone. Does anyone know if there's a specific department at SSA that handles earnings corrections that I should ask for when I call?

my neighbor had something similar happen and it took TWO YEARS to fix!!! and then they had the nerve to say they "expedited" it!!! 🤬

That's a really valid point! The

That's a wonderful perspective! We do want to travel more while we're still able to enjoy it. I think I need to balance the financial optimization with quality of life considerations. Thank you for that reminder!

The whole system is ridiculous! I spent MONTHS trying to sort out my daughter's survivor benefits. Paper checks, lost mail, bounced payments. And every time I called, I'd wait for HOURS only to be disconnected! It's like they WANT us to give up. Maybe we should all just refuse to switch from paper checks and see what they do about it! What are they going to do, arrest thousands of widows and orphans?

To clarify a few points: 1) Yes, the law (31 CFR § 208.4) requires electronic payments for federal benefits, but there are exceptions. 2) For beneficiaries with less than 6 months of expected eligibility remaining, SSA has discretion to continue paper checks rather than process a payment method change. 3) You can file for a hardship waiver (Form SSA-1201) if switching to direct deposit would cause significant difficulty. 4) Student benefits end the earlier of: graduation, dropping below full-time attendance, or the month before turning 19. I recommend documenting your attempts to comply with the direct deposit requirement in case questions arise later. Keep all inserts and notes about your calls as evidence of your good faith efforts.

Thank you everyone for all this helpful information! I had no idea that my POA wasn't valid with Social Security - that alone makes it worth becoming her representative payee before any issues come up. I'm going to call SSA tomorrow (or use that Claimyr service if I can't get through) to start the process. I'll let you know how it goes. I really appreciate all the advice and personal experiences shared here!

One more thing to be aware of - if your mom has any assets or other income besides SS, the rep payee authority ONLY covers the Social Security payments. You'll still need the POA for everything else (bank accounts, investments, property, etc). So you'll end up needing BOTH.