my situation is kinda similar except im not eligible for much on my own record. i worked mainly as a stahm for most of our marriage (26 yrs!). divorced 5 yrs now. i called SS last year when i turned 62 and they told me its better for me to wait til my FRA (66+8mo) to get the full 50% of my exs benefit. if i took it early at 62 id only get like 35% of his benefit forever. made me mad that i have to wait but what can you do?

Thank you all for the helpful responses. I think I'm understanding better now. Since I can't take my own benefit early and then switch to the ex-spouse benefit later, my options are basically: 1. Claim early at 62 and get either my own reduced benefit OR my reduced ex-spouse benefit (whichever is higher), but it's permanently reduced 2. Wait until my FRA at 67 and get either my full retirement benefit OR 50% of my ex's FRA benefit (whichever is higher) I need to crunch the numbers using my SSA account to see what makes the most sense financially. The extra money now would be helpful, but I also don't want to shortchange myself for potentially decades if I live a long time (my mom is 91 and still going strong!). I'll also check out that Claimyr service to talk to SSA directly. The last time I called, I waited over an hour and then got disconnected.

my brother in law had this problem. he talked to his accountant who told him to set up an s-corp instead of doing schedule c. that way he could pay himself a salary under the limit and take the rest as distributions which dont count towards the earnings test. worked for him but probably depends on how much ur making overall

Update: I called SSA this morning and finally got through after trying for 3 days! The rep confirmed what many of you said - they look at net earnings for self-employment. She also explained that they'll take the adjustment from future benefits next year after I file my taxes. I'm going to track my hours and income more carefully going forward, and I might talk to my accountant about restructuring. Thanks everyone for your help!

One important clarification: Based on your description, you are currently receiving BOTH your SSDI benefit ($1,725) AND a reduced survivor benefit ($427). At FRA, you have a decision to make: 1. Continue receiving your own retirement benefit (converted from SSDI) of $1,725 plus possibly a reduced survivor benefit, OR 2. Switch to taking ONLY the full, unreduced survivor benefit if that would be higher than your own $1,725. You cannot receive your full retirement benefit AND your full survivor benefit simultaneously. The exact calculations depend on your deceased husband's primary insurance amount and your own earnings history.

To find out what your late husband's full benefit would be, you'll need to speak with an SSA representative. This information isn't readily available on your my Social Security account. When you call, ask specifically for what his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) was - that's the term for his full benefit amount. Then compare that to your own benefit to see which will be higher at your FRA.

My sister said they sometimes mess up the withholding when you first request it. Make sure you check your first payment after the W-4V goes through to confirm they got it right!!

You made a smart move with the W-4V! Just remember that if your financial situation changes (like you start working part-time or have other income sources), you might need to adjust your withholding percentage. The 10% might be enough, but some people need to withhold more depending on their total income. I had to increase mine to 15% after I started taking distributions from my IRA.

i just got in!!!! try this - i deleted my browser cookies, restarted my phone, and then used the EMAIL verification instead of text. worked on the first try!

For anyone else finding this thread, SSA just posted a technical update on their website acknowledging issues with their text verification system. They recommend using email verification temporarily. They expect to have the text system fixed by the end of the week according to the notice.

One thing I just thought of - does your employer offer a 401k? If you're still working, you might want to increase your contributions for the rest of 2025 to offset some of the additional income from Social Security. Just a thought for tax planning!

Thanks for all the great advice everyone! I'm definitely going to file in May/June when I hit my FRA. I'll also look into increasing my 401k contributions - that's a great suggestion for managing the tax situation. This has been incredibly helpful!

UPDATE: My mom's payment finally arrived today (Feb 12th)! Exactly as many of you said, it was just delayed due to the new verification process. Thank you all for your help and reassurance during this stressful time. For anyone still waiting, it seems they're definitely processing them, just taking longer than usual.

my ssdi payment was late to and im not overseas!! they doing it to everyone this month i think

To answer the follow-up question about getting money back: When you reach your FRA, Social Security recalculates your benefit amount. They'll increase your monthly payment to account for the months when your benefits were partially or fully withheld due to the earnings test. It's not a lump sum - instead, your monthly benefit will be permanently higher going forward. Essentially, those months when benefits were withheld are treated similarly to months when you didn't take benefits at all (like if you had delayed claiming until later).

The recalculation at FRA is supposed to be automatic, but like everything with SSA, it's good to follow up. I'd recommend checking your benefit amount in the month after you reach FRA to make sure it increased appropriately. And back to the original question - I want to emphasize for the consultant situation that it's net earnings from self-employment that count. That means what you report on Schedule SE after applying the appropriate adjustments to your Schedule C net profit. This actually works in your favor since only about 92.35% of your net profit counts as net earnings from self-employment (due to the self-employment tax calculation).

sooo did u get the letter yet?? im curious what it was for!

I had a somewhat similar situation last year. In my case, I had worked part-time while receiving early benefits, and they adjusted my payment after the annual earnings review. It was actually money they owed me because I stayed under the earnings limit. Do you have a mySocialSecurity account online? Sometimes the explanations show up there before you get the paper notice.

What about Medicare? Aren't you supposed to sign up for that at 65 even if you're still working? That's different from SS retirement.

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! This has given me a lot to think about. I'm going to: 1. File about 3 months before my FRA date (so around July 2025) 2. Continue working without worrying about the earnings test 3. Talk to a tax professional about managing the tax implications 4. Consider the survivor benefit implications for my wife I really appreciate all the advice and personal experiences shared here!