im in kinda the same boat. divorce after 11 years and ex makes way more than me. but i heard you need to be married 10 years to get anything from their record. is that true?????

Thank you all SO much for the helpful responses! I've scheduled an in-person appointment for next Tuesday morning. I'm bringing ALL my documents - marriage certificate, divorce decree, birth certificate, current benefit statement, and I even managed to find his SSN in some old tax returns. I'm going to specifically ask about "independently entitled divorced spouse benefits" and make sure they understand I've been divorced over 2 years and we were married over 10 years. I'm feeling hopeful for the first time in years! If they try to tell me I don't qualify because he's still working, I'll politely ask them to check the rules again. If I hit another brick wall, I might try that Claimyr service to reach someone who actually knows these specific rules. I'll update after my appointment to let everyone know how it went. Crossing my fingers!

Another thing - make SURE you tell your employer that you're collecting Social Security! I didn't, and they withheld Social Security taxes from my paychecks even though I was already collecting benefits. You still pay Medicare taxes but the SS tax situation is different when you're collecting benefits.

Thanks everyone for all the helpful information! From what I understand: 1) Yes, there's a $22,750 limit for 2025 since I'm under my FRA, 2) If I earn over that, they'll reduce benefits $1 for every $2 over, 3) They'll adjust this after the year ends, not immediately, 4) The withholdings aren't permanently lost - they'll recalculate when I reach FRA, and 5) Investment income doesn't count toward the limit. I think I'll go ahead with the part-time job and not worry too much about the limit. The extra income will help, even with a slight benefit reduction.

One thing to add that might help with your planning - you can actually see how your benefit estimate changes by using the retirement estimator on ssa.gov and plugging in different retirement ages. It will show you the projected benefit at 62, full retirement age (67), and 70. While it won't show you exactly which years are being used in the calculation, it does factor in the assumption that you'll keep earning at your current level until the retirement age you select. This can give you a clearer picture of how much those extra working years might benefit you financially.

Just wanted to add something important that hasn't been mentioned yet - if you had any years where you earned above the Social Security wage base (the maximum amount subject to SS taxes), those years might be more valuable than you think. For example, in 2023 the wage base was $160,200. If you earned more than that in any year, only the wage base amount counts for SS purposes, but it still gets the full inflation indexing when they calculate your benefit. So a year where you earned $160,200 in 2023 might actually be worth more in the calculation than a year where you earned $180,000 but the excess didn't count for SS. Just something to keep in mind when estimating which of your years will make the top 35!

I'm new to this community and Social Security in general, but this thread has been incredibly educational! I'm still several years away from retirement, but seeing all the complexities around spousal benefits makes me realize I need to start planning much earlier than I thought. One question for those who've been through this - is there a good resource or guide that walks through all these scenarios before you actually need to apply? It seems like there are so many nuances (like the FRA vs age 70 calculation differences, IRMAA implications, etc.) that would be helpful to understand ahead of time rather than figuring it out during the application process. Also, for someone like Roger who did such a great job delaying until 70 for the maximum benefit - any tips on how you managed financially during those extra years between your full retirement age and 70? That's something I'm trying to plan for myself.

Welcome to the community! As someone who's also navigating Social Security planning, I wanted to chime in on the resources question. In addition to the SSA website and AARP resources mentioned, I've found the book "Social Security For Dummies" to be really helpful for understanding all these scenarios in plain language. It covers spousal benefits, survivor benefits, and timing strategies in detail. For the financial bridge between FRA and 70, one strategy I've seen recommended is the "Social Security bridge" approach - using other retirement savings (like 401k or IRA withdrawals) during those years to let your Social Security benefit grow by 8% per year. Some people also consider Roth IRA conversions during this period since they might be in a lower tax bracket before Social Security kicks in. The key is starting this planning early like you're doing! Most financial advisors recommend running scenarios starting at least 5-10 years before your FRA to see what works best for your specific situation. It's complicated stuff, but getting it right can make a huge difference in your total retirement income.

I'm new to navigating SSI benefits and this thread has been incredibly helpful! My 23-year-old brother has autism and we've been struggling with similar issues. He's currently getting about $620/month instead of the full amount, and after reading all these responses, I realize we've probably been doing the household expense calculations all wrong. A couple of questions for those who've been through this process: 1. When calculating food expenses, do you include things like eating out occasionally or just groceries? 2. For utilities, what about subscription services like streaming that the whole family uses - can those be included? 3. How often does SSA typically review these arrangements once you get them set up properly? I'm going to start putting together a spreadsheet like several of you suggested, but want to make sure I'm including the right categories from the beginning. It's so overwhelming trying to figure out all these rules, but seeing that other families have successfully navigated this gives me hope we can get my brother the full benefits he's entitled to receive. Thanks to everyone who's shared their experiences - this community is amazing!

Just wanted to add something that helped us tremendously - when documenting your son's payments for household expenses, make sure the bank transfer descriptions are very specific. Instead of just "rent" or "household," we use descriptions like "1/3 household expenses per SSA guidelines" or "pro-rata share mortgage/utilities/food." Our caseworker mentioned this level of detail in the transaction descriptions made their review much smoother because it was immediately clear what the payments were for and that we understood the SSA requirements. It's a small thing, but every bit helps when dealing with their reviews! Also, if your son has a representative payee account, double-check with your bank about any restrictions on transfers between accounts. Some banks flag frequent transfers between payee accounts and personal accounts, so it's worth discussing the arrangement with them upfront to avoid any holds or questions later.