One other important point: If you have your own retirement benefit that would eventually be higher than your survivor benefit, it often makes sense to take the survivor benefit early (reduced) and then switch to your own retirement benefit at age 70 when it's maximized. This is one of the few remaining claiming strategies that can significantly increase lifetime benefits. During your call, make sure to ask about your future options for switching between benefits if that applies to your situation.

I wish I'd known about all this when my husband passed. I just took the survivors right away at 60 and now realize I probably should have waited. No one at SS explained any options to me :

It's important to understand exactly how IRMAA works. In 2025, the first threshold for married couples filing jointly will be around $206,000. If your combined income (including the $25,000 withdrawal) stays below that, you won't see any Medicare premium increase. If it pushes you over that threshold, your Part B premium would increase by approximately $68/month per person in 2027. The next threshold is around $258,000, which would mean a larger increase. These are based on your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI), which is essentially your AGI plus tax-exempt interest income.

One thing no one mentioned - did your husband take this distribution BEFORE hitting full retirement age? If so and he's still within his first year of receiving benefits, there could be issues with the earnings test. But if he's past FRA, which sounds like he is at 67, then there's no earnings test to worry about, just the Medicare IRMAA potential increase.

I appreciate everyone's input. I'll definitely ask for a technical expert when I call. I'm going to try calling first thing tomorrow morning and will also compile all my documents as suggested. If I can't get through, I might try that Claimyr service. I'll update this thread once I get definitive answers from SSA about my situation.

good luck! the rules r so complicated with remarriage & survivor benifits. hope u can get thru to someone helpful!

just wondering why ur starting benefits before FRA anyway? dont u get more money if u wait? my dad waited till 67 and got way more

Did u check with ur employer? my cousin got messed up cuz her company reported her earnings differently than she thought and she ended up going over the limit without realizing it. might wanna double check how they'll report ur income during tax season

My husband's situation was similar to yours about 2 years ago. Just to add something I haven't seen mentioned yet - they'll verify all this when you file your taxes next year. If there's any discrepancy between what you reported to SSA and what shows up on your W-2, they'll adjust your benefits retroactively (which could mean owing money back). So make sure your earnings records are accurate!

does anyone know if disability has the same rules?? my brother is on SSDI and thinking about trying part time work

For your account lockout - try using a different browser or clearing your cookies. That fixed mine last time. They've been having a lot of website issues lately.

One other important thing to consider: if you do qualify for benefits as a divorced spouse caring for a disabled adult child, and you decide to reduce your work hours to stay under the earnings limit, make sure to calculate how that will affect your own future retirement benefit. Those reduced earnings years will be part of your benefit calculation. Sometimes it's better financially to keep working and wait until your own retirement age to claim benefits.

I think i saw somewhere that they doing this because of the fraud protection act that passed in congress last yr. My friend told me its to do with the Real ID thing to. Not sure if thats true but its what i herd.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing this is just a normal system update and nothing to worry about. I appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge and experiences.

I appreciate everyone's help! I just scheduled an in-person appointment at my local office for next month (earliest they had available). The representative on the phone confirmed they don't have my marriage certificate or divorce decree in their system, even though I mentioned the marriage in my original application. She said I absolutely need to bring those documents to potentially qualify for ex-spousal benefits under the new WEP/GPO phase-out. I'll update once I know more about how this affects my benefit amount.

The whole system is DELIBERATELY CONFUSING!!! They never tell you what documents you actually need until it's too late. Then they blame YOU for not providing something they never asked for in the first place! I've been fighting with them for 8 months about my WEP reduction. Every person tells you something different. It's all designed to make you give up and take less money than you deserve.

whats full retirement age anyway? isnt it different for everybody?

One other important thing to know: If you're eligible for survivor benefits before your own retirement (say your husband passed when you were 60), you could claim REDUCED survivor benefits at 60, let your own retirement benefit continue growing, and then switch to your own benefit at 70 if it would be higher than the survivor benefit. Or the reverse: You could take your own reduced retirement benefit at 62 and then switch to the full survivor benefit at your full retirement age. This is one of the few scenarios where you can still switch between benefit types after the rules changed in 2015. The key is comparing the two amounts and understanding how claiming early reduces benefits permanently. These calculations get complicated, which is why discussing your specific situation with SSA is so important.

just remembered my cousin had to get like an official record from Italy showing his work history there. took him forever to figure out which Italian govt office to contact. might be worth researching who handles work records in Spain/Germany now so ur prepared

Thank you all so much for the helpful information! I'm going to start by gathering whatever documentation I can find from my time abroad. Then I'll make an appointment specifically requesting someone with international expertise. I'll also research the specific totalization agreements with Spain and Germany to understand what I'm eligible for. Sounds like I should plan for this to take 6+ months, so I'll start well before I plan to actually retire. Really appreciate all the insights!