Since you're turning 63 and plan to wait until 67 (your FRA), here are the key points to consider: 1. The Government Pension Offset (GPO) will likely apply since your husband's pension comes from a state government job that didn't pay into Social Security. 2. The GPO reduction is 2/3 of your gross pension amount, so approximately $1,433 will be deducted from your survivor benefit. 3. Your earnings won't affect your survivor benefits once you reach FRA (67), but they would reduce benefits if you claimed earlier. 4. To make an informed decision, you need to know what your survivor benefit amount would be before the GPO reduction. This amount is based on what your husband would receive if he were alive at your FRA. 5. Request a detailed calculation from SSA showing both your survivor benefit amount and the GPO reduction. This will help you determine if you'll receive any benefit after the reduction. The optimal claiming strategy depends on these numbers. If the GPO would eliminate most or all of your survivor benefit, it might make sense to claim earlier and accept the earnings reduction.

Sending hugs. Its so hard dealing with all this paperwork when youre grieving.

One quick tip since you're filing at 69: make sure you check if you're eligible for Medicare Part B without a late enrollment penalty. If you've been covered by employer insurance, you should be fine, but if not, you might face penalties for not enrolling at 65. You get an 8-month Special Enrollment Period after employer coverage ends to sign up without penalties.

Based on all the responses, here's a summary for you: 1) No earnings limit after FRA so no benefit reduction, 2) Possible benefit increase if your current earnings replace lower years, 3) Tax implications depending on total income, 4) Check your Medicare enrollment situation. Anything else I missed, folks?

Something nobody mentioned yet - you might want to check if the office you're trying to visit requires appointments now. Many SS offices switched to appointment-only after COVID and never went back to full walk-in service. You can check their specific hours and appointment policies on the SSA website or by calling the national number (though getting through is a challenge).

Update: I went back to the closer office (in the neighboring county) today, and guess what? They helped me with no problem! The rep even apologized for the misinformation I was given last time. They accepted my SSA-44 form and all my documentation showing our income drop after retirement. She said I should receive a decision letter in about 2-3 weeks. Thank you all for giving me the confidence to go back and try again!

My friend just retired and got her SS. She worked in Canada too but didn't have to do any of this. Maybe call again and get a different person?

Update: After following everyone's advice, I finally got through most of this process! The Canadian pension office had a specific international benefits department that processed my request in 2 weeks instead of 6. I sent everything certified mail to SSA and followed up regularly. My benefit is now being processed with only a partial WEP reduction thanks to my 23 years of US work. Thanks everyone for your help navigating this complicated mess!

this is why the SSA is so frustrating!!! they should make this stuff CLEAR on their website!!! i'm years away from FRA but I'm already dreading dealing with all this. the fact that info disappears when you convert from SSDI to retirement is ridiculous. it's OUR information and WE should be able to access it whenever we want!!! my mom went through something similar and ended up having to make THREE trips to the SSA office because each time they gave her different information. can you believe it??? THREE TRIPS!!! and she's in a wheelchair! i hope you get this figured out without too much more hassle!!!

just wondering if you solved this yet? im in a similar situation and wondering if I should just hire a financial advisor who specializes in SS to figure this out for me. feels like an unnecessary expense but the opportunity cost of missing out on benefits seems worse!

I'm a retired financial advisor who specialized in Social Security planning. Here's what you need to know: 1. The annual earnings limit for 2025 is projected to be approximately $22,560 for those under FRA the entire year. Since you're turning 62 in December 2024 and claiming in January 2025, you'll be subject to the full annual limit. 2. If you exceed the annual limit, SSA withholds benefits at the rate of $1 for every $2 earned above the limit. They typically withhold full monthly payments starting at the beginning of the following year until the withholding amount is satisfied. 3. For your application timing: Apply immediately. SSA allows applications up to 4 months before benefits begin, but you're already within that window. Processing can take 6-8 weeks. 4. Important consideration: By claiming at 62, your benefit is permanently reduced by about 30% compared to your Full Retirement Age benefit. Make sure this aligns with your long-term financial plans. 5. If you exceed the earnings limit and have benefits withheld, you'll receive an adjustment at Full Retirement Age that increases your monthly benefit to account for the months benefits were withheld.

I started my benefits last year at 62 and I made sure to stay juuuust under the earnings limit. My sister went over by accident and they sent her this scary letter and stopped her benefits for like 3 months! Just keep really good track of what your earning. My boss was cool about it and would let me know when I was getting close to the limit so I could take time off if needed.

hey i just remembered something important. they pay benefits a month BEHIND. so june benefits come in july. dont forget that when ur planning for no gap.

One more thing to consider - when you apply, you'll have the option to choose which month you want benefits to start. This gives you flexibility in timing. You could apply now, but request benefits to start the month after you plan to stop working. This ensures everything is processed and ready to go without creating potential tax complications from overlapping full salary and benefits. Also, if you haven't already, create a my Social Security account on ssa.gov to see your estimated benefit amount. This will help with your retirement budget planning.

WAIT!! Did I miss something?? I thought GPO repeal doesn't start until 2027!! Have they changed something?? My wife gets state pension and I've been planning for GPO to affect her SS for years. If this is actually happening in 2025 we need to change all our plans!!!!

Thank you all for the helpful advice! I'm going to ask about protective filing dates versus retroactive benefits during my appointment. I think I'll proceed with my application first and then have my husband apply once mine is processed, as several of you suggested. The monthly increase for delayed retirement credits makes sense now - I always thought it might be annual which would have made a January filing date exactly the same as waiting until February. Knowing it's monthly makes the calculation clearer. I'm also going to double-check about this GPO repeal timing since someone raised questions about that. I may have misunderstood something my financial advisor told me about pending legislation.

Just wanted to mention that state taxes are a separate consideration. Most states don't tax Social Security benefits at all (38 states exempt them), but some do. Worth checking your state's rules too!

To answer your question about submitting the W-4V: You can either mail it to your local Social Security office or drop it off in person. I'd recommend calling ahead if you plan to visit in person, as many offices still require appointments. You can find your local office address using the office locator on SSA.gov. If you mail it, I suggest making a copy for your records and possibly sending it with delivery confirmation so you know it arrived safely.

THIS IS WHY I HATE DEALING WITH SSA!!! Nobody ever explains these weird rules until AFTER the fact. How are regular people supposed to know all these complicated policies?? And then they make you jump through a million paperwork hoops to get what you're entitled to. SO FRUSTRATING!!!

Update: I called my daughter's high school and they were super helpful! Turns out they get these requests all the time. I just need to bring the form to the main office with her student ID number, and they'll complete it on the spot. Going to do that tomorrow and then submit it to SSA. Thank you all for convincing me to follow through with this. Will post another update when I find out how much additional benefit she's entitled to!