Great advice from everyone here! Just wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful - if you do decide to cash out the pension, consider consulting with a tax professional beforehand. Lump sum pension distributions can have significant tax implications, especially if it pushes you into a higher tax bracket for that year. You might end up owing more in taxes than expected, which could eat into the funds you need for the medical equipment. Some people find it beneficial to roll part of the pension into an IRA to spread out the tax burden. Just another consideration for your financial planning!

As someone who works with disability benefits, I want to emphasize something that might get overlooked - if you're considering cashing out the pension, make sure you understand the "spend down" requirements for any means-tested benefits you might have. For programs like MSP (Medicare Savings Program) that you mentioned, there's usually a monthly income test AND a resource/asset test. A large lump sum pension withdrawal could temporarily disqualify you from these programs even if you spend the money quickly on medical equipment. Some states have "spend down" provisions where you can regain eligibility once your resources drop below the limit again, but there might be a gap in coverage. It's worth asking your state Medicaid office about their specific spend-down rules and whether there are any exceptions for medical expenses before you make the withdrawal.

I'm currently going through this exact same situation! Filed my application in mid-October and it's been stuck on Step 2 for about 8 weeks now. Like many others here, I also have government employment history - worked for a state agency for 11 years with a pension. Reading through all these comments has been so enlightening, especially the explanation from the retired SSA specialist about WEP reviews. I had no idea that government pensions could trigger such lengthy manual verification processes! The MySocialSecurity messaging approach sounds promising - I'm going to try that today and specifically mention my state employment history. It's incredibly frustrating not having transparency about what's happening, but at least now I understand this is likely a legitimate review process rather than my application being lost or forgotten. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and advice - it's reassuring to know I'm not alone in this waiting game!

I'm dealing with almost the exact same situation! Filed my Social Security application in early November and it's been stuck on Step 2 for about 7 weeks now. Like several others here, I also have government employment history - worked for a municipal water department for 14 years with a pension. This entire thread has been incredibly eye-opening, especially the retired SSA specialist's explanation about WEP reviews. I had absolutely no clue that government pensions could trigger such lengthy manual verification processes! It's so frustrating that this information isn't communicated upfront when you apply. Based on all the great advice here, I'm going to send a detailed MySocialSecurity message today specifically mentioning my municipal employment history and asking for status updates. The suggestion about contacting the pension system directly to ask them to prioritize their response to SSA is genius - I'm definitely going to try that approach too. It's oddly comforting to see so many of us in the same boat with government employment delays. Thanks to everyone for sharing their experiences and strategies - this gives me hope that persistence and the right approach will eventually get us through this process!

This discussion has been incredibly thorough and helpful! I'm in a very similar situation - started collecting at 65 while my FRA is 66+10 months, and I'm doing consulting work. Based on everything shared here, I now understand it's the net self-employment income (after business expenses but before taxes) that counts toward the $23,920 limit. One additional tip I'd like to share: I found it helpful to set up quarterly check-ins with myself to review my year-to-date earnings against the limit. This helps me make informed decisions about taking on new projects in the later part of the year. I use a simple formula: (Current net earnings ÷ months elapsed) × 12 to project my annual total, then factor in any known upcoming projects. Also, for anyone struggling to get through to SSA by phone, I can confirm that the online my Social Security account is much more reliable for basic reporting and checking benefit information. You can also use their online contact form for non-urgent questions, and they typically respond within a few days with written answers you can save for your records. Thanks to everyone who contributed their experiences here - this kind of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing is invaluable when dealing with these complex regulations!

What a fantastic and thorough discussion! As someone who's been working with Social Security beneficiaries for several years, I can confirm that the advice given here is spot-on. For consulting work, it's definitely your NET self-employment income that counts toward the $23,920 annual limit. I wanted to add one important consideration that I haven't seen mentioned yet: if you're doing consulting work that requires professional liability insurance, continuing education, or professional licensing fees, these are all legitimate business expenses that can be deducted before calculating your net earnings for the SSA limit. Many consultants forget about these ongoing professional costs when tracking their expenses. Also, since you mentioned you're 65 with an FRA of 66+10 months, you'll want to be aware that in the year you actually reach FRA, the rules change significantly. The earnings limit jumps to $56,520 for that year, and only earnings BEFORE the month you reach FRA count toward the limit. After the month you reach FRA, there's no limit at all. So it might be worth planning some higher-earning projects for that transition year if possible. The systematic tracking approaches mentioned by others are excellent - staying organized and conservative with your projections really is the key to avoiding any benefit recoupment issues. Good luck with your consulting work!

To answer your follow-up question about resources, SSA Publication No. 05-10084 "Benefits For Your Divorced Spouse" is very helpful. You can find it on the SSA website. Also, regarding documents, yes - you'll need to provide marriage certificates and divorce decrees for both marriages to prove they each lasted at least 10 years. If you don't have them, you can request them from the county courthouse where the divorce was finalized. When you're comparing benefits, remember these key points: 1. You must be at least 62 to claim ex-spouse benefits 2. You'll get the higher of: your own benefit OR 50% of either ex-spouse's PIA 3. If you claim before your FRA, your benefit amount will be permanently reduced 4. You cannot receive ex-spouse benefits if you're currently married (unless your current marriage occurred after age 60) I recommend creating a my Social Security account online if you haven't already. This will show you your estimated benefit based on your own work record, which is crucial for comparing your options.

I went through this exact same situation a few years ago! One thing that really helped me was requesting a "benefit estimate" from SSA for each ex-spouse's record. You can do this by calling or visiting a local office with both of their Social Security numbers and your divorce paperwork. They'll give you a written estimate showing what 50% of each ex's PIA would be, which makes it much easier to compare. Just be prepared - it can take a few weeks to get the estimates back. Also, don't forget that if you're born in 1954 or later, your Full Retirement Age is 66+ (not 65), so make sure you know your exact FRA when planning your claiming strategy. The SSA website has a chart that shows FRA by birth year. One last tip: if you end up choosing to claim on an ex-spouse's record, you can still delay your own retirement benefit until age 70 to earn delayed retirement credits (8% per year). Then at 70, you could potentially switch to your own higher benefit if it ends up being more than the ex-spouse benefit. It's like having a backup plan!

I'm dealing with this exact same issue right now! Had a scheduled phone appointment for my retirement benefits application last Friday - got the text confirmation, email, AND a mailed letter. They even called Thursday night with an automated reminder. Friday comes and... nothing. No call, no explanation, no follow-up. It's been 5 days now and I've tried calling back twice but keep getting the "all circuits are busy" message. This thread is really helpful because I was starting to wonder if I somehow missed the call or if my phone was acting up. Clearly this is a widespread problem with their system. From reading everyone's experiences here, it sounds like I need to stop waiting around and be much more aggressive about following up. I'm going to try calling first thing Monday morning at 8 AM sharp with all my confirmation numbers ready. It's really frustrating that we have to chase them down when THEY missed the appointment they scheduled. Thanks everyone for sharing your stories - at least now I know this isn't just happening to me!

This is such a widespread problem! I'm a newcomer here but have been lurking and reading all these stories about missed SSA appointments. My elderly neighbor just went through this exact same thing - scheduled appointment for disability review, got all the confirmations, and then crickets when the call time came. What really bothers me is how many people this is happening to with NO explanation from SSA. It's clearly a systemic issue with their scheduling or phone systems, but they're making each of us individually chase them down to fix THEIR mistakes. For those calling back - I've heard from other forums that mentioning you're documenting the missed appointment (date, time, confirmation numbers) and asking for the incident to be noted in your file can sometimes get better results. It shows you're taking it seriously and creates a paper trail if you need to escalate later. The whole system is clearly broken right now. Hope everyone here gets their appointments rescheduled quickly!