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.

The REAL problem is that the SSA is DELIBERATELY understaffed!! They've closed over 60 field offices since 2010 while the number of beneficiaries has INCREASED by millions! And their phone system is from the stone age! They WANT to make it hard for us to get our benefits because every day you're delayed is money they keep!! I spent THREE MONTHS trying to get my widows benefits straightened out after they miscalculated my payment. THREE MONTHS of calling and getting disconnected! It's not an accident the system is this broken!

Regarding your survivor benefits interview, make sure you understand the rules about the earnings limit if you're still working. For 2025, if you're under Full Retirement Age and earn more than $22,300, they'll deduct $1 from benefits for every $2 you earn above that limit. Also, are you aware that you can apply for survivor benefits online now? They've recently expanded their online services. Might be easier than the phone interview process. And good job being kind to the representative! As someone who worked in government services for years, I can tell you that a little kindness goes a long way when staff are overwhelmed.

Just to add one more thing - I would recommend applying for your benefits 3-4 months before you want them to start. That gives SSA plenty of time to process everything, including any potential spousal adjustment for your husband. With their current backlogs, the earlier you apply (within their allowed timeframe), the better!

Does anyone know if the firefighter pension affects this at all? My neighbor was saying something about GPO being different from WEP and that first responder pensions sometimes mess up spousal benefits completely

Here's what's frustrating about SSA - policies seem to vary by office. My husband and I both applied online within 3 months of each other. I was asked to bring in original documents, but they never requested his! We think it's because his birth certificate was already scanned into their system years ago when he got a replacement card, but no one could explain why I needed to bring mine in when I'd also previously provided it. The inconsistency is maddening.

One more thing I forgot to mention - if the SSA already has electronic versions of your documents in their system (like if you've provided them before for a different purpose), you might not need to bring them again. But it's so hit or miss that it's best to be prepared with everything just in case. The easiest way to know for sure is to call and ask if they need to see your original documents based on what's already in your record.

Thank you all for the informative responses! I've learned so much - especially that I should be thinking about maximizing to age 70, not 72. It sounds like the best approach is for me to wait until 70 since I'm the higher earner, which would maximize my benefit and potentially my husband's survivor benefit if I pass away first. Even though my waiting won't increase his spousal benefit (which I didn't realize), the overall household strategy seems to favor delaying. I'm going to look into working until at least 68 and reassess our savings at that point. The distinction between how spousal vs. survivor benefits work was the missing piece I needed!

One other factor to consider: if your husband has his own substantial work record, his spousal benefit might not even come into play. Spousal benefits are only paid if they're higher than the person's own retirement benefit. If he's been a good earner throughout his career, he might just collect on his own record anyway. Also worth noting - you mentioned saving more. If you're still working, you might consider putting more into retirement accounts rather than focusing solely on the Social Security timing question. Increasing your savings rate for the next few years could have a significant impact too.

i just remembered something my financial advisor told me - he said the 8% per year increase stops at age 70 so theres no benefit to waiting after that. so if your retiring at 68.5 your only getting 1.5 years of increases not the full extra years most people think about. just something to keep in mind

That's right, there's no benefit increase for delaying past 70. In my case, I'd be getting 3.5 years of delayed retirement credits if I wait from my retirement at 66.5 until 70. It's the sweet spot of getting the maximum possible benefit.

Sorry but have u considered what happens if SHE dies first? My brother planned everything around him dying first and then his wife got cancer and passed before him. Completely different situation and he wasn't prepared at all for it financially. Not trying to be negative just realistic.

Since you're about to reach your FRA, here's something else to consider: If you haven't already applied for benefits, you might want to consider file and suspend strategy. You could file for your benefits at FRA, immediately suspend them to earn delayed retirement credits, while potentially allowing your wife to claim a spousal benefit if it's higher than her own reduced benefit at 65. Then if you pass away, her survivor benefit would include any delayed credits you earned. However, the rules around this are complex following the 2015 law changes, so I'd recommend getting personalized advice about your specific situation from SSA directly before making any decisions.

To clarify a point that's causing some confusion in the comments: The Social Security Administration does use both name and SSN for tracking earnings, but name discrepancies generally only become problematic when: 1. You're applying for a new benefit and need to prove identity 2. The names are substantially different (not just minor spelling variations) 3. You're dealing with automated systems that flag mismatches Your son has two options: - Option 1: Update his identification documents to match his birth certificate/SS card (easier) - Option 2: Legally change his name to his preferred spelling, then update his SS card and birth certificate (more work) Either way, consistency is the goal. And while not an emergency, it's definitely worth addressing before any major life events where identity verification becomes important.

Thank you all so much for the helpful advice! I talked to my son and showed him this thread. He's going to make an appointment with the Social Security office to discuss the best approach, and he'll probably end up using his birth certificate name on everything going forward since that matches his SS card. I feel so much better knowing that his benefits aren't in immediate jeopardy but that he has a plan to fix this before it causes problems. You've all been so helpful!

THE SSA TAKES AWAY MONEY ANY CHANCE THEY GET!!!! Fill out EVERYTHING they send you and keep copies!!! I lost 2 months of my daughters benefits because the school sent back the form 3 days late. THREE DAYS!!! And they wouldn't backpay even with proof we submitted on time. The system is RIGGED against us!!!

Following up on my earlier comment - make sure you get the school's portion completed before your daughter actually graduates. Some schools are difficult to get paperwork from after the school year ends. And to be completely clear: if you submit the forms, she'll get benefits for May AND June. If you don't, her last payment would be for April. So definitely worth doing.