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 in a similar situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! Just wanted to add that you might want to consider meeting with a financial planner who specializes in Social Security to run some scenarios. They can help you understand not just the survivor benefits, but also things like potential tax implications and Medicare considerations if your household income changes significantly. My advisor helped me realize there are some planning strategies around timing and tax withholdings that can make a difference in the long run, even if the benefit amount itself doesn't change. Worth the consultation fee for peace of mind!

Just wanted to share my recent experience that might help others in similar situations. I went through this exact scenario when my husband passed last month. The SSA representative I spoke with explained that even though my own benefit was higher, I should still apply for survivor benefits because they need to officially compare the amounts and make the determination. The application process was actually pretty straightforward once I got through to someone - I just needed his death certificate, our marriage certificate, and my Social Security number. They processed everything within about 3 weeks and confirmed I would continue receiving my own higher benefit. One thing that surprised me was that they automatically stopped his direct deposit the month after he passed, so make sure you're prepared for that change in household income. Also, don't forget to notify Medicare about the death if your spouse was enrolled - that's a separate process from the Social Security survivor benefits.

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!

To summarize for the original poster: 1. Your state pension does NOT count toward the earnings test limit 2. If you work part-time and earn over $21,240 in 2025, benefits will be reduced 3. Your SS benefit will likely be reduced by WEP regardless of when you claim 4. You should check if GPO will affect any spousal/survivor benefits 5. Consider whether it makes financial sense to claim at 63 or wait until FRA or even age 70 6. The earnings test goes away completely once you reach your FRA of 67 Making the right Social Security claiming decision can mean tens of thousands of dollars difference over your lifetime.

One thing to consider that might help with your decision - since you have 15 years of substantial earnings under Social Security, you're getting close to the 30-year threshold that eliminates WEP entirely. If any of those years were close to the "substantial earnings" amount for those years, you might want to check if working a few more years could bump you over that threshold. The substantial earnings amount changes each year (it's $29,700 for 2025). Also, don't forget that your Social Security benefit grows by about 8% per year if you delay claiming past your FRA until age 70. So even with WEP reducing your benefit, that 8% annual increase still applies to whatever your WEP-reduced amount would be. Might be worth running the numbers to see if the delayed retirement credits make up for the years of missed payments, especially since you'll have your state pension covering your expenses.