my friend said she just waited til 70 no filing or suspending or nothing just applied when she was 70 and got the bigger amount automatically

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I'm going to just wait until 70 to file since that seems to be the consensus. With my family history of longevity and the potential survivor benefits for my wife, the 24% increase seems worth waiting for. Plus I'm still working and can afford to wait. Really appreciate all the insights!

This has been such an informative discussion! I'm new to receiving Social Security benefits (started just last month) and was completely baffled when my first payment came 2 days early but this month's arrived exactly on the official date. I thought I had done something wrong! Reading through everyone's experiences here, it's clear this is a widespread banking issue rather than anything related to SSA or individual accounts. The timing makes sense too - it sounds like many banks started changing their early deposit policies around the same timeframe, likely due to system upgrades like FedNow implementation. I'm definitely going to follow the advice here about calling my credit union's ACH department specifically for clearer answers about their policy. Regular customer service has just been giving me vague responses about deposits being "processed when available." The biggest takeaway for me is switching my mindset from expecting early deposits to budgeting solely based on the official SSA payment dates. I'm going to download that payment calendar from ssa.gov and set up my automatic bill payments for a few days AFTER my official payment date instead of trying to time everything around potential early deposits. Thanks to everyone for sharing your experiences and practical solutions - this community knowledge is invaluable for navigating these confusing banking changes!

As someone new to this community and the Social Security system, this entire discussion has been incredibly eye-opening! I'm not yet receiving benefits but will likely be eligible in the next few years, so I'm trying to educate myself early about what to expect. The consistency of experiences across different banks is really striking - it sounds like this shift from reliable early deposits to unpredictable timing happened across the industry around the same timeframe. The explanations about FedNow implementation and banks adjusting their ACH processing policies make a lot of sense for why we're seeing these changes now. What I find most valuable from this discussion are the practical strategies everyone has developed: - Budget based solely on official SSA payment dates from ssa.gov - Contact ACH departments specifically rather than general customer service - Set up bill payments for AFTER official dates instead of hoping for early deposits - Treat early deposits as bonuses rather than reliable income timing - Use budgeting apps with buffer days built in It's really frustrating that banks marketed early deposits as benefits and then quietly changed their policies without clear communication, especially when this affects people on fixed incomes who need predictable financial planning. But this community has done an amazing job sharing knowledge and workarounds. Thank you all for such a thorough discussion - this kind of collective wisdom is invaluable for understanding these complex systems and preparing for what to expect when I eventually start receiving benefits!

I work for a benefits counseling organization and see cases like yours frequently. Here's what you need to know definitively: 1) **Second husband survivor benefits**: No, you cannot receive survivor benefits from your second ex-husband because you were divorced when he died. The one-week timing doesn't create an exception - the law requires you to be married at time of death. 2) **First husband benefits**: You ARE eligible for divorced spouse benefits from your 28-year marriage starting at age 62 (reduced) or full retirement age (100% of benefit). This could potentially be higher than your current $1,875 SSDI. 3) **Key decision point**: At age 62, you can compare your SSDI with potential divorced spouse benefits and receive whichever is higher. At full retirement age, your SSDI automatically converts to retirement benefits at the same amount. **My strong recommendation**: Before making any remarriage decisions, get your benefit estimates from SSA. Use form SSA-7004 to request a statement showing your ex-husband's benefit amount. If his divorced spouse benefit would be significantly higher than your $1,875, remaining unmarried until you can claim it might be financially advantageous. The financial impact of this decision could be substantial over your lifetime, so definitely get those concrete numbers first!

I'm in a somewhat similar situation and wanted to share what I learned from my SSA appointment last month. Like you, I'm on SSDI and was considering remarriage but needed to understand the financial implications first. The key thing that helped me was getting actual dollar amounts rather than just general rules. When I met with SSA, they were able to pull up my ex-spouse's earnings record and show me exactly what my divorced spouse benefit would be at different ages (62 with reduction vs. full retirement age). In my case, it turned out my SSDI was actually higher than what I'd get from my ex-spouse, so remarriage wouldn't cost me anything financially. One tip: when you call or visit SSA, ask them to run the numbers for both scenarios - your current SSDI converting to retirement benefits vs. potential divorced spouse benefits from your first husband. They can usually do this calculation on the spot if they have both records available. Also, don't forget that if you do decide to remarry later and that marriage ends, you could still potentially claim on your first husband's record at that point since those rights don't disappear permanently. Good luck with getting your answers - I know how stressful this kind of uncertainty can be when you're trying to plan your future!

The WHOLE SYSTEM is designed to be confusing on purpose!!! They don't want us to understand how our benefits are calculated because then we might realize we're not getting what we deserve after paying in our whole lives!!!!

Just want to add that if you're looking for a really detailed breakdown of how AWI indexing works, SSA Publication 05-10070 "How Work Affects Your Benefits" has some good examples with actual numbers. You can download it from their website. Also, one thing I learned the hard way - make sure you're checking your earnings record on your my Social Security account regularly. I found errors in mine from jobs I had in the 1990s that would have affected my indexing calculation. You have limited time to correct these, so don't wait until you're ready to retire! For planning purposes, the online estimator is pretty accurate if your earnings record is correct. But if you want to really understand the math behind it, those AWI tables and the PIA formula are worth studying.

So glad to hear you got the correct information on your second call! This is exactly why we always recommend calling back if something doesn't sound right. The $600/month difference you mentioned is huge - that's over $7,200 more per year for the rest of your life. For anyone else reading this thread, this is a perfect example of why it's worth being persistent with SSA. Don't be afraid to call multiple times if you're getting conflicting information, especially on something as important as survivor benefits. The rules are complex and not all representatives are equally knowledgeable about every aspect. Thanks for updating us with your success story - it will definitely help other people in similar situations!

This is such a valuable thread for anyone dealing with survivor benefits! I'm a newcomer here but wanted to share that I had a similar experience last month. The first SSA rep I spoke with gave me completely wrong information about my survivor FRA (said it was 67 when it's actually 66 and 8 months for my birth year). Like others mentioned, calling back made all the difference. The second rep not only gave me the correct FRA but also explained that I could get the month-by-month breakdown showing different benefit amounts. She even walked me through when to apply to avoid any gaps in payments. It's frustrating that there's such inconsistency in the information provided, but this community really helps people navigate these challenges. Thank you to everyone who shared their experiences - it's clear that persistence is key when dealing with SSA!