I'm also navigating this transition with my daughter who has autism and will be 18 soon. Reading through everyone's experiences has been incredibly helpful! I wanted to add that when I spoke with our disability advocate last month, she mentioned that it's really important to emphasize the *functional limitations* rather than just the diagnoses when filling out the forms. For autism specifically, they want to see how it impacts her ability to work, interact socially, handle changes in routine, manage personal care, etc. Even if your daughter seems "high functioning" in some areas, document everything she struggles with - executive functioning issues, sensory processing problems, difficulty with transitions, need for prompting or supervision. Also, if she's ever had any work experiences (like supported employment or volunteer work), make sure to document what accommodations or supports were needed. This can actually strengthen the case by showing she tried to work but needed significant assistance. The whole process is overwhelming but this community has given me so much confidence that we can get through it. Sending support to all the families dealing with this transition!

I'm a case worker who helps families navigate SSA transitions, and I want to emphasize something crucial that others have touched on but bears repeating: the medical evidence requirements for DAC benefits are often more stringent than what was needed for childhood SSI. Even though your daughter previously qualified for SSI, SSA will evaluate her under adult disability standards when she turns 18. This means they'll assess whether her conditions prevent her from performing "substantial gainful activity" - essentially any work that pays more than about $1,470/month in 2024. For autism spectrum disorder, they'll specifically look at: - Social interaction deficits that would interfere with workplace relationships - Communication limitations affecting job performance - Repetitive behaviors or fixated interests that impact work ability - Difficulties with change/transitions that workplace demands would create I'd strongly recommend getting a comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation if you haven't had one recently. These evaluations provide detailed functional assessments that SSA finds very helpful. Also, if she's had any vocational assessments or work trials through school, include those results as they demonstrate real-world work limitations. The good news is that with proper documentation and early application, most families I work with successfully transition to DAC benefits. You're doing everything right by starting this process now!

Update: I took everyone's advice and carefully reviewed my earnings record year by year. Everything looks correct - all my factory jobs are showing the right earnings with SS taxes paid. I'm still planning to call SSA about removing that warning message, but I feel much better knowing my actual work history is correctly recorded. Thanks for all the helpful information!

I'm dealing with something similar right now! I've been working in private sector IT for 15 years and suddenly saw the WEP/GPO warning appear in my account last week. Like you, I've never worked any government or non-covered jobs. It's reassuring to see from the other comments that this seems to be a widespread system glitch. I checked my earnings record and everything looks correct with all my SS contributions properly recorded. Still planning to call them when I can get through, but at least now I know I'm not alone in this situation. Thanks for posting about it!

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at SSA! The $150 was indeed a one-time adjustment related to my earnings record from 2023. Apparently when they processed my tax return information, they found I was eligible for a slightly higher benefit for part of the year. My husband didn't get one because his benefit amount wasn't affected by the earnings update. Mystery solved! And yes, my regular payment came through on schedule too. Thanks everyone for your help!

Thanks for sharing the update! This is really helpful information for others who might experience the same thing. I'm dealing with a similar situation with my elderly mother's benefits - she got an unexpected payment last month and we've been trying to figure out what it was for. Based on your experience, I'll suggest she check if it might be related to her 2023 tax information. It's reassuring to know these adjustments do happen and aren't necessarily errors. Glad you were able to get through to someone at SSA - that's half the battle these days!

Just wanted to add my experience - I'm a retired postal worker and got hit with the same scam email about 2 weeks ago. What really bothered me was how detailed it was - they knew I was affected by WEP and even mentioned my approximate benefit reduction amount. I called SSA directly (waited 3 hours but finally got through) and the agent confirmed it was a scam. She said they've had a huge uptick in these targeted phishing attempts against public service retirees in the last few months. The scammers are definitely doing their homework to make these emails look legitimate. The agent also told me that when ANY major legislation affecting WEP/GPO passes, SSA will send multiple official paper notices by mail before any changes take effect. They would never rely on email for something this significant. Stay vigilant everyone!

Wow, thank you everyone for the quick responses - I feel so much better knowing this was a scam! I was getting my hopes up that the Fairness Act had finally passed. I've already forwarded the email to oig.dsc@ssa.gov and changed my MySocialSecurity password as recommended. It's really disturbing how these scammers are specifically targeting us public service retirees who are already struggling with WEP/GPO reductions. They clearly know exactly what buttons to push to get our attention. I'm going to warn my former colleagues at the school district about this scam since they're probably being targeted too. Does anyone know if there are any legitimate updates we can sign up for to track the actual progress of the Social Security Fairness Act? I'd love to stay informed without falling for more scams like this.

As a newcomer to this community, I have to say this thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm currently facing a very similar situation - I delayed my Social Security benefits for 6.5 months past my FRA and started collecting in December 2024. My January payment was the same as my previous payments, so I was starting to get worried that something had gone wrong with my DRC calculation. Reading through everyone's real-world experiences here has been such a relief. It's clear that these 2-4 month processing delays are completely standard, regardless of how many months you delayed. The pattern seems to be that SSA processes these adjustments in batches throughout Q1, and the timing appears somewhat random rather than based on delay length or other factors. @aa0a55660898 thank you so much for posting this question and especially for the update after you successfully reached SSA! Knowing that agents can actually confirm which processing batch your case is assigned to gives me confidence to try calling myself. I'm expecting about a 4.33% increase (6.5 months × 0.667%), so I definitely want to verify they have my delay period calculated correctly. I'm going to follow the advice from @65c6793a02e7 about calling Tuesday-Thursday mornings around 8-9 AM to avoid the worst hold times. Based on everyone's experiences, it seems like the key is getting confirmation that SSA has the correct number of delay months in their system before they process the batch. This community is amazing for sharing these real experiences rather than trying to decipher SSA's confusing official information. Thanks to everyone who's contributed their stories - it makes navigating this process so much less stressful!

As a newcomer to this community, I want to thank everyone who has shared their DRC experiences in this thread! I'm currently in a similar situation - I delayed my benefits for 8 months past my FRA and started collecting in September 2024. My January payment was the same as previous months, so I was getting anxious until I found this discussion. Reading through all these real-world experiences has been incredibly reassuring. It's clear that 2-4 month processing delays are completely normal, and the timing seems to vary regardless of how long you delayed. The pattern of SSA processing these adjustments in quarterly batches makes sense, even if it's frustrating to wait. What really stands out to me is how important it is to call and verify that SSA has calculated your delay months correctly. Several people mentioned initial counting errors that had to be corrected, so with my 8-month delay (expecting a 5.33% increase), I definitely want to confirm they have the right number. @aa0a55660898 your update about getting confirmation from SSA regarding batch processing was really helpful! I'm going to try calling next week using the Tuesday-Thursday morning timing suggestion from @65c6793a02e7. Even though the hold times are notorious, it seems worth it to get that peace of mind about the calculation. This community has been so much more helpful than trying to navigate SSA's confusing website alone. Thanks to everyone for sharing your actual experiences rather than just speculation - it makes this whole waiting process much more manageable when you know what's normal!