Thank you all for the really helpful information. I'm going to share all these insights with my brother-in-law so he can make an informed decision. It sounds like waiting those 14 months would be ideal if he can swing it financially, but I better understand the tradeoffs now. I appreciate everyone taking the time to explain!

I've been through a similar situation with my own family. One thing that might help is to calculate the actual dollar difference over time. If he takes $1,450/month now versus $1,750 at FRA, that's $300/month difference. But he'd also receive 14 months of payments ($20,300) that he wouldn't get if he waits. The breakeven point is usually around age 82-83. Given his wife's MS diagnosis, they might want to prioritize having more income available now for potential medical expenses and care needs. Sometimes the "optimal" financial decision on paper isn't the best decision for real-life circumstances.

One thing no one has mentioned: if your ONLY income is the $27,300 from SSDI, the calculation works like this: 1. Half of your SSDI ($13,650) is counted toward the threshold test 2. Since $13,650 is less than $25,000, technically NONE of your benefits would be taxable 3. However, the full calculation is more complex - your "combined income" includes half your benefits plus other income Either way, with the standard deduction, you'll likely owe nothing, but you should file to be in compliance. Use the free filing options available through IRS.gov.

I'm a newcomer here but wanted to chime in since I just went through this exact situation last month! I had $28,400 in SSDI last year and was terrified about taxes. Here's what I learned from my tax preparer: If SSDI is your ONLY income, your "provisional income" (which is what they use for the threshold test) is calculated as: half your SSDI + any other income + nontaxable interest. So for you, that would be $13,650 (half of $27,300) + $0 other income = $13,650 total. Since $13,650 is well below the $25,000 threshold, NONE of your SSDI should be taxable! But you should still file a return if you're required to (check the IRS filing requirements based on your age and filing status). I ended up not owing anything and actually got peace of mind from filing. The free tax software walked me right through it. Don't stress too much - you're likely in better shape than you think!

Congratulations on getting it resolved! It's frustrating how these seemingly small data discrepancies can completely lock you out of the system. Your experience highlights a major issue with SSA's online verification - they need exact matches across multiple databases that apparently don't always sync properly. Thanks for sharing the solution and following up with your success story. This thread will be really helpful for others dealing with similar verification problems.

This is such a comprehensive thread! As someone who works in government IT, I can tell you that these database synchronization issues are unfortunately very common across federal agencies. The SSA has multiple legacy systems that were built decades apart and don't always communicate seamlessly. What you experienced with the middle initial and address spacing discrepancies is exactly the kind of "dirty data" problem that plagues these older systems. The fact that you needed a third-party service to reach an actual person is really telling about the resource constraints at SSA. Their phone system is overwhelmed and their online verification is overly strict to prevent fraud, but it creates a horrible user experience for legitimate beneficiaries like yourself. Your documentation here will definitely help others - I'd recommend anyone facing similar issues to also screenshot their exact card information before calling, as agents often need to verify exactly what's printed versus what's in the system. Thanks for sharing the complete journey from problem to solution!

One thing nobody has mentioned: if your husband exceeds the annual earnings limit, SSA withholds benefits at the rate of $1 for every $2 earned above the limit. For 2025, the annual limit is approximately $22,320 (they adjust for inflation each year). Since he's earning $28,000 through May, that exceeds the annual limit by about $5,680, which would mean approximately $2,840 in benefits might be withheld. However, if he qualifies for the monthly earnings test in his first year of retirement, this won't apply as long as he earns under the monthly limit (about $1,860) in the months he's receiving benefits. Also worth noting: once he reaches FRA, they'll recalculate his benefits and give him credit for months they withheld benefits, potentially increasing his monthly amount going forward.

WHATEVER U DO, keep copies of EVERYTHING! my friend lost all his paperwork showing when he stopped working and SSA made him pay back like $9000!!! they claimed he was working all year when he wasnt!

The SSA is ALWAYS trying to short-change us!! My friend was told she'd get one amount then ended up with hundreds less per month. She fought it for months and finally got what she deserved. DONT give up!!

I'm sorry for your loss, Gael. What you're experiencing is unfortunately common with the RIB-LIM rule that others have mentioned. I went through something similar when my mother passed - the initial estimate was much higher than what I actually received due to these complex calculations. One thing I'd recommend is requesting your husband's complete earnings record (Form SSA-7050-F4) along with that technical explanation others mentioned. This will help you verify that they're using the correct earnings history in their calculations. Sometimes there are errors in the earnings record that can affect benefit amounts. Also, if you do decide to request the detailed calculation, be prepared that it might take several weeks to receive it. The SSA doesn't generate these explanations routinely, so they have to create them specially upon request. But it's worth having for your records, especially since you're planning to switch to your own benefits at 70. The good news is that your survivor benefit strategy still makes sense - you're essentially getting paid to delay your own retirement benefits until they max out at 70, even if the survivor amount is less than you initially expected.