To give you complete peace of mind, call the Medicare Coordination of Benefits Contractor at 1-855-798-2627 to record that you have employer coverage as your primary insurance. This helps prevent claim processing errors. Also, keep documentation from your employer proving your continuous health coverage for when you eventually do enroll in Part B. This documentation will exempt you from late enrollment penalties when you fully retire.

wait i just realized something do you have a health savings account HSA with your work plan?? if you do, once you have ANY medicare (even just part A) you CANNOT contribute to HSA anymore!!! found this out hardway

Has anyone actually successfully switched from one widow benefit to another? My mother tried to do this (switch from her second husband to first husband's record) and the SSA office gave her such conflicting information that she gave up. One person said she could, another said she couldn't - typical SSA confusion!

I've been reading through all these comments and now I'm confused about one thing - when exactly should the original poster apply? Right at 60? A few months before? After? I know with regular SS retirement you can apply a few months early but when does that process start for widow benefits?

My sister just went through this exact thing! Her husband was on disability too. She was shocked when she found out how the math works. Since she makes about $50k, she basically would get $0 in survivor benefits until she either quits or hits her FRA.

One thing to clarify about survivor benefits that might affect your planning: your survivor benefit amount is based on what your husband would have received if he had reached full retirement age, even though he was receiving SSDI. So the calculation is: - If he died before his full retirement age (which it sounds like he did): Your survivor benefit is based on his full retirement age benefit amount - If he died after reaching his full retirement age: Your survivor benefit would be based on what he was actually receiving This is why it's important to speak directly with SSA about your specific situation - the exact calculation can affect your planning significantly.

To be extra clear about the WEP calculation: The law says they use the "monthly periodic payment which the individual first became entitled to receive" (not subsequent increases). You can find this in Section 215(a)(7) of the Social Security Act. If you have your initial pension award letter, that's your best documentation. Also, don't forget that WEP impact is reduced if you have 21+ years of substantial earnings under Social Security, and eliminated completely with 30+ years.

One additional tip: if you're using the WEP calculator on the SSA website, after you enter your initial pension amount, make sure you also check if any of the WEP exceptions apply to you. There are several situations where WEP might not apply or might be calculated differently, such as if you were eligible for your pension before 1986 or if you have federal employment covered under CSRS Offset. The calculator might not account for these exceptions automatically.

One more thing to keep in mind: the spousal benefit increase should happen automatically, but it's not instantaneous. There's often a 1-3 month processing time after you start receiving your benefits before your wife sees her increase. When it does come through, she should receive any back payments owed from the time you started collecting. Just don't be alarmed if it takes a bit of time to appear in her payments.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! This has given me a much clearer picture of what to expect. I'll make sure to specifically mention my wife's spousal benefit when I apply, keep careful track of the calculations, and be prepared for possible delays in processing. It sounds like she should definitely see some increase, even if it's not the full 50% due to her early claiming. And I'll be ready to contact SSA if needed using that Claimyr service if we run into problems. Really appreciate all the advice!

when my dad died last yr we had to send death certificate to SS office but they let us fax it instead of mail

One additional thing to be aware of: if your mother had any Medicare premiums being deducted from her Social Security payment, you'll want to make sure those are properly stopped as well. When you call SSA, ask them to confirm that all automatic deductions related to her benefits have been terminated.

Wait, what reversal are you talking about? I'm getting ready to apply for Social Security but my husband was a firefighter with a government pension. Will I get reduced benefits because of him? I'm so confused about all this WEP/GPO stuff.

UPDATE: I followed everyone's advice and used Claimyr to reach a Social Security rep yesterday. The rep confirmed we need to file the SSA-795 form requesting recalculation due to the WEP repeal. She said we should include: 1. A statement requesting recalculation due to WEP repeal 2. My husband's most recent OPERS benefit statement 3. A copy of his W-2s showing years of substantial earnings She estimated it would take 10-12 weeks for processing but said the backpay would include all months from January 2024. Based on our rough calculation, he should get around $8,550 in backpay plus an additional $475 monthly going forward. Thank you all for your help! I'll post another update once we get the adjustment.

You might also want to check if you're eligible for the one-time death payment of $255. It's not much but it's something.

One more important point for your planning: be aware of the Government Pension Offset (GPO) if you have a pension from a job where you didn't pay Social Security taxes (like some government or teaching positions). This could reduce your survivor benefits. Also, if you're still working, know that claiming survivor benefits at 60 won't affect your own retirement benefit amount when you claim that later. The reduction for early filing only applies to the benefit type you're claiming early.

Just went through this transition last year. First year is monthly (which they call your "grace year"), then it switches to annual. What nobody tells you is that you need to be proactive about updating them if your income situation changes during the year. I got a higher-paying part-time job mid-year and didn't think to notify them until my tax return showed much higher earnings than I'd estimated. Ended up with a $4,300 overpayment I had to deal with. Don't make my mistake!

One additional thing to note - make sure you understand what counts as "earnings" for the earnings test. It's generally only wages from employment or net earnings from self-employment. Things that DON'T count: pension payments, investment income, interest, annuities, capital gains, or insurance payments. This trips up a lot of people when estimating their earnings!

Does anyone know how long it takes for survivor benefits to start after u apply? My neighbor waited 5 months!!! She said there was a huge backlog at SSA

Just to make sure everyone understands the COMPLETE picture: if your husband has already claimed his own retirement benefits early (before his FRA), then your eventual survivor benefit would be based on that reduced amount (with some possible adjustments). So while YOUR early claiming of spousal doesn't affect survivor benefits, HIS early claiming DOES impact what you'd eventually receive as a survivor. Just another factor to consider in the overall planning.