My brother thought he was getting one amount and ended up with something totally different. The SSA is always changing things and you cant trust what they tell you anymore. The whole system is broken if you ask me!!!

wait ur turning 70 next month and havnet applied yet?? i thought u had to apply 3-4 months before? Will u still get all the back payments??

This is exactly why i waited til 70 to claim! You get the max benefit PLUS you can work with no penalties. My financial advisor calls it the "win-win" strategy. The only downside is taxes but thats gonna happen no matter what once your income gets high enough. Youre doing the right thing - make that money!

just curious y did ur neighbor think his benefits got cut? maybe he had something else happen like medicare costs going up or something?

I went through exactly this situation. Thought I was being smart by planning the restricted application strategy, then found out it was eliminated. Such a disappointment! Make sure you do the math carefully though - don't just assume waiting till 70 is best. If you need the money sooner or have health concerns, taking it earlier might make sense. Not everyone lives long enough to break even on the delayed benefits.

Based on the numbers you've shared, here's a summary of your options: 1. If you claim at 62: You would receive your own reduced benefit (approximately $1,470, which is 70% of your FRA amount) 2. If you claim at FRA (67): You would receive your own benefit of $2,100 3. If you claim at 70: You would receive your own benefit with delayed credits (approximately $2,600) In all cases, you would receive your own benefit because it's higher than the ex-spousal benefit (which would be $1,700 at your FRA or about $1,190 if taken at 62). Given these numbers and the fact that you're still working, waiting until 70 to maximize your benefit is likely your best option, especially if you have average or better life expectancy.

I think you're overthinking this. Just list him with the jail address and move on. The form is mainly to show SSA who might contest your appointment as rep payee. Your brother obviously can't serve as rep payee from jail so it's just a formality. Not worth stressing over!

Update: I submitted the form with my brother listed and his current jail address, with a note that he's being transferred soon. The SSA rep I finally spoke with (thanks for the Claimyr suggestion!) said that was exactly the right approach. She also said I should contact them once he's transferred to update his address in their system. Thanks everyone for your help!

I'm so grateful for all this information! I had no idea about the Disabled Adult Child benefits possibility, and I'll definitely be looking into that BPQY report. I'm going to try calling SSA tomorrow to set up an appointment specifically about this transition. My husband is still considering whether to delay his benefits after hearing about these potential complications. Thank you all for sharing your experiences!

One last thing to consider: If your husband can financially manage without taking benefits at 62, delaying until his Full Retirement Age (66-67 depending on birth year) would not only increase his own benefit by about 30%, but would also increase any potential DAC benefit your son might receive. This is something to factor into your decision if your son qualifies for DAC benefits.

Just wanted to add that if your own benefit is higher than the survivor benefit you'd get from your ex-husband's record, you wouldn't receive any survivor benefits. SSA gives you the higher of the two, not both combined. Worth checking both scenarios.

WAIT!! There's something nobody mentioned - I think there's a LUMP SUM DEATH PAYMENT of $255 you should get regardless of the monthly benefit stuff. Don't forget to ask about that!!!

wait I'm confused about something... if the original poster delays claiming until his wife reaches FRA, does SHE have to wait until then to claim spousal benefits? Or can she claim spousal on his record even if he hasn't filed yet? This whole deemed filing thing confuses me

Just wanted to add my experience - we were in almost the same boat last year. Wife is 14 months younger than me. What we decided was for me to take benefits at my FRA (66+8mo) so she could start collecting spousal right when she hit her FRA. Made more sense for our situation than waiting for those extra delayed credits. Every month we both collected was better than waiting for a slightly bigger check down the road. Run the numbers for your specific situation!

One more detail to consider: taking her benefit now means 7 months of payments she wouldn't get otherwise. At $642/month, that's about $4,494 total. Compare that to the lifetime reduction of $33/month by claiming early. She would need to live approximately 136 months (over 11 years) beyond her FRA just to break even by waiting those 7 months. From a purely mathematical perspective, claiming now makes sense in her case. The small increase from waiting to FRA doesn't justify the foregone benefits, especially since she'll likely switch to the higher spousal benefit when you claim at 70 anyway.

my mom got widows benefits and they messed up her payments THREE TIMES!! had to keep calling and fixing it. make sure you check EVERY STATEMENT when you get benefits!!!

Those embassy people are USELESS!!! I tried for 5 months last year. Calling, emailing, online forms - NOTHING worked! Ended up hiring a lawyer in the US who specializes in expat SS issues. Cost me $600 but got it done in 3 weeks. Sometimes you just gotta pay to get past the government roadblocks 🤬

I forgot to mention in my earlier reply - make sure you're very clear about your direct deposit information. If you want deposits to a Philippine bank, there are only a few banks SSA will work with directly (like PNB). Otherwise, you might need to maintain a US bank account. This tripped up several friends of mine during their application process.

One additional document to consider is the "ANYPIA" calculation (Average Indexed Monthly Earnings calculation). This shows the detailed formula used to determine your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). What complicates your situation is coordinating between your own benefit and the potential spousal benefit. Here's what many people don't realize: if you take your own benefit early at 62, and later become eligible for a spousal benefit when your husband files at 70, your spousal benefit will be reduced because you took your own benefit early. This is why getting these calculations done professionally is so important in your specific situation. The difference could potentially be tens of thousands of dollars over your lifetime.

When I was planning my retirement, I found it helpful to make a list of specific questions before my SSA appointment. Make sure to ask: 1. What's my retirement benefit at 62, 63, FRA, and 70? 2. What would my spousal benefit be at each of those ages? 3. How does my husband delaying until 70 affect my spousal benefit? 4. What happens to my benefit if I switch from my own to spousal later? 5. How does continued work affect these calculations? Bring a notepad and write down everything they tell you. I found the representatives helpful but they sometimes skip details if you don't specifically ask.