Did you know they might owe you retroactive benefits too? When my sister filed for survivors after her husband passed, they gave her six months of back payments from before she applied! Might be worth asking about.

Thank you everyone for all the helpful information! I've decided to schedule an appointment with SSA to discuss my options. I'll gather my documentation (marriage certificate, her death certificate, our birth certificates) before going in. Since I'm earning well above the earnings limit right now, I'll probably wait until closer to my full retirement age before applying, but it's such a relief to know this option exists! I had no idea I could still claim these benefits after all these years.

My brother had to deal with this last year and said the monthly thing only works if you make under the limit for the REST of that same year. If you go over the monthly limit even once after starting benefits, they switch you to the annual test for the whole year.

Don't forget to track your earnings carefully throughout the year. SSA won't necessarily warn you when you're approaching the limit - they often just discover it when earnings are reported and then send you an overpayment notice later. I recommend creating a spreadsheet to monitor your monthly income against the limit, especially since you'll both have variable income from part-time and consulting work.

this is why i tell everyone to record phone calls with ss or get everything in writing!!! they mess up all the time and then we're the ones who suffer

Based on your additional information, I think you're dealing with two separate issues that might be getting confused: 1. Social Security spousal benefits: If you filed at 69, you should actually get MORE than 50% of your husband's benefit due to delayed retirement credits, not less. The 6-month retroactive payment limitation is correct, unfortunately. 2. Medicare penalties: This is likely a separate issue. The late enrollment penalty for Medicare Part B adds 10% to your premium for each 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't. However, if you had creditable employer coverage, you should have qualified for a Special Enrollment Period with NO penalty. I suspect the $410 vs $925 difference isn't just about penalties - it might be that they calculated your benefit incorrectly or applied the wrong formula entirely. At this point, I strongly recommend requesting a detailed benefit calculation explanation from SSA in writing. Ask specifically for a breakdown of how they arrived at $410 instead of $925. Once you have that, the error might become clearer and easier to appeal.

One additional tip based on helping several family members with SS applications: If your online application gets flagged for manual review due to the name discrepancy (which it likely will), be proactive and call SSA after about 10 business days to check on its status. Sometimes applications with name issues get put in a holding pattern unless you follow up. Also, regarding your adoption question - yes, list your pre-adoptive name, but if your SSN was issued after your adoption, it's less likely to cause any complications.

Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! I feel much better prepared now. We'll definitely include all documentation, be very clear about the timeline in the remarks section, and make multiple copies of everything. And I'll be sure to follow up if we don't hear anything after 10 days. Really appreciate all the real-world experiences shared!

Last year I was so confused about whether I should even start SS early because of this exact earnings limit issue. I kept going back and forth. Finally decided to wait until FRA to avoid the headache entirely. For some people though, getting those benefits early even with reductions makes more financial sense.

Does anyone know if they apply the earnings test monthly or annually? Like if I earn a big bonus one month but little the rest of the year?

Has anyone else noticed that sometimes the amounts on the 1099 don't match what you actually got? My dad swears he got $245 more than what his form says. Do they take taxes out before listing the total?

I just wanted to update - I found my 1099 today! It wasn't there yesterday but showed up this morning. So I guess they're still uploading them. Anyway if anyone else is still waiting just keep checking.

One more important consideration for your children: If they're receiving survivor benefits and you move internationally, SSA may periodically require proof of school attendance after age 16, proof of life, and other documentation to continue their benefits. The process for providing this documentation from abroad can be complicated. Also, if your children become residents of another country, there could be different rules that apply after they've been outside the US for 6 calendar months. Make sure you understand these requirements before moving. Finally, consider how currency conversion and international transfer fees might affect the actual amount you receive each month.

After reading all the comments, I wanted to add that from my experience living in Spain while receiving survivor benefits, the process was manageable but required attention to detail. Here's what worked for me: 1. I kept my US bank account for direct deposits 2. I notified SSA before leaving (took about 45 minutes on the phone) 3. I filed form SSA-21 as mentioned above 4. I renewed my address information whenever we moved 5. I responded promptly to the annual questionnaire The benefits continued without interruption, but I did have to visit the US Embassy once to verify some information. Overall, it's definitely possible to maintain your benefits while pursuing international opportunities.

Has anyone here actually had success getting through the WEP reduction? My dad just retired from teaching and they cut his SS by almost half and were super nasty about it when he asked questions!!! He worked construction for 15 years before teaching and now they're acting like those years don't count!!!

To answer your original question directly: This is NOT double dipping. The Supreme Court has clearly established that survivor benefits and your own retirement benefits are separate entitlements. GPO may reduce the amount, but you are fully entitled to apply for and receive survivor benefits even while receiving your own retirement benefit. One crucial point I should add - you'll want to specifically request a "survivor benefit calculation with GPO consideration" when you contact SSA. Many representatives don't deal with GPO cases regularly and might give incorrect information if you don't use the specific terminology. If your calculated survivor benefit after GPO ends up higher than your current WEP-reduced benefit, they will pay you the difference.

my mil has dementia and we found out too late that SS isnt the only thing to worry about!! make sure u get her bank accounts sorted too!! we couldnt access anything even tho we had rep payee and it was a NIGHTMARE

dont forget about the spending requirements! my cousin was rep payee for her mom and she got in trouble for using the money wrong. u gotta spend it only on your sister and keep all the receipts!

UGH the Social security rules are SO confusing... I just want to confirm one thing - you definitely need to REPORT the death asap so they don't keep sending payments that would need to be returned. And be prepared that they might put a hold on the account when you report it (my mom's bank froze everything when dad died even though it was a joint account).

To clarify once and for all: Social Security retirement benefits are paid in the month they are DUE. The payment received on January 30, 2025 was for January 2025. The confusion here stems from the fact that SSA's official policy is that a person must be alive for the entire month to receive benefits for that month - with an exception. The exception is that if the person dies on the last day of the month (as in your mother's case - January 31), they are considered to have lived the entire month for benefit purposes. So the January 30th payment for January 2025 was correctly paid and does not need to be returned. No payment should be made for February 2025. As others have mentioned, reporting her death promptly to SSA is important to prevent any overpayments.