This happens every few years and causes so much confusion! My mom gets retirement benefits not survivor benefits but same payment system. Her neighbor told her same thing last year and she was up all night worrying. Like others said nobody misses a payment, it's just about when the dates fall. Does your aunt get direct deposit? That makes it easier to track.

I work at a local senior center and we get this exact question every single year! It's so frustrating how this rumor keeps circulating and scaring people. Your aunt is definitely not alone - we had about 15 seniors come in last month asking about "missed December payments." What I always tell folks is to think of it like this: Social Security promises you 12 payments per year, and they ALWAYS deliver on that promise. Sometimes the calendar just makes it look weird on paper, but the money is always there. We actually keep printouts of the SSA payment calendar at our front desk now because this comes up so often. Tell your aunt she can also call her local Area Agency on Aging if she needs help understanding any Social Security stuff - they're usually really good at explaining things in plain English without the long hold times!

I'm dealing with a very similar situation right now! My husband is 64 and still working, making about $85k, while I'm 61 and volunteer at our local animal shelter. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful. One thing I wanted to add that I learned from meeting with a financial planner - they suggested we also consider our overall retirement savings and monthly expenses when deciding on the claiming strategy. If you have adequate retirement savings to cover your needs for a few more years, waiting until FRA or even later can significantly increase your lifetime benefits. Also, have you looked into whether your volunteer work might have given you any additional Social Security credits over the years? I discovered that some volunteer coordinator positions I held years ago actually did provide small amounts of taxable income that I had forgotten about, which slightly boosted my benefit calculation. The tax implications are definitely real with your husband's income level, but as others mentioned, you're still coming out ahead financially. We ran the numbers and even with 85% of my benefits being taxable, the monthly income would still be substantial enough to justify claiming. Good luck with your decision! It sounds like you're being very thoughtful about all the factors involved.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is the "do over" rule that might be relevant to your situation. If you claim at 62 and later realize it wasn't the best decision, you have 12 months from your first benefit payment to withdraw your application and pay back all the benefits you received (without interest). This gives you a one-time chance to restart at a later age with a higher benefit. This might be worth considering given your uncertainty. You could claim at 62, see how the taxes actually affect your household budget with real numbers instead of estimates, and then decide within that first year whether to continue or withdraw and wait until your FRA. Also, since you're doing volunteer work managing a food pantry network, you might want to check if your organization offers any retirement planning resources or if there are any tax advantages related to your volunteer work that could offset some of the taxation on your Social Security benefits. Some volunteer-related expenses can be deducted if you itemize. The key is getting your actual benefit estimate from SSA and running the real numbers for your specific situation rather than relying on general rules of thumb.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Ivanna. Losing a spouse is incredibly difficult, especially with young children to care for. I wanted to add some practical advice that might help with your immediate situation. Since you mentioned the SSA office is hard to reach and you can't take more time off work, consider these options: 1. **Online account**: If you haven't already, create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov. You can view benefit estimates, check your earnings record, and sometimes get information without calling. 2. **Written requests**: For complex questions like yours, sometimes submitting a written request to your local office can get you more detailed, documented answers than phone calls. 3. **Timing your calls**: If you must call, try early morning (8-9 AM) or late afternoon (4-5 PM) on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays. Mondays and Fridays tend to be busiest. Regarding your strategy - everyone here is correct that you can take survivor benefits at 60 and switch to your own at 67 if higher. Since you're 45 now, you have 15 years to accumulate those work credits. Working full-time should easily get you the 40 credits needed. One thing to keep in mind: when your youngest turns 16 (in about 4 years), you'll become eligible for mother's benefits, which could provide some financial relief during those crucial working years before you're eligible for survivor benefits at 60. Stay strong - you're asking all the right questions and planning wisely for your family's future.

I'm really sorry for your loss, and I can see you're getting excellent advice here from people who've been through similar situations. One additional point I wanted to mention that might be helpful: when you do eventually apply for survivor benefits at 60, make sure to ask about "protective filing dates." If there's any delay in processing your application, SSA can sometimes backdate your benefits to when you first inquired, which could mean several months of retroactive payments. Also, since you mentioned being a teacher's aide, you might want to double-check whether your school district participates in Social Security or if they have their own retirement system. Some public employees don't pay into Social Security, which could affect your ability to earn those 40 credits you'll need for your own retirement benefit. The fact that you're thinking about this strategy now, 15 years ahead of time, shows you're being incredibly smart about planning for your family's future. Many people don't realize they have these options until it's too late to optimize their benefits. Keep working on building those credits - you've got plenty of time, and this community is here to help if you have more questions along the way.

This happened to my sister too! The award letter eventually came and showed that SSA had paid the LTD company directly for the offset (only the SSDI portion, not the full LTD amount). Don't forget that SSDI also has that stupid 5-month waiting period where you don't get any benefits at the beginning of your disability period.

UPDATE??? did u ever get this figured out? I'm curious what happened with all the money!

Good question about him waiting until 70. Your spousal benefit is based on his PIA (what he'd get at his full retirement age), not his actual benefit amount. So while HE would get a larger benefit by waiting until 70 (about 8% per year in delayed retirement credits), your spousal benefit wouldn't increase beyond 50% of his PIA. However, there's still an advantage to him waiting - if he passes away before you, you'd be eligible for survivor benefits equal to 100% of what he was receiving, including those delayed retirement credits. So his waiting could significantly increase your eventual widow's benefit. Given your age difference and his higher earning history, him delaying benefits could be a good strategy for maximizing your lifetime household benefits, especially if he has longevity in his family.

Just want to add one practical tip that helped me when I was navigating this - keep detailed records of all your communications with SSA! I created a simple spreadsheet tracking dates, who I spoke with, and what they told me. This saved me so much hassle later when I got conflicting information from different representatives. Also, if you haven't already, create your my Social Security account online at ssa.gov. You can see your earnings history, get benefit estimates, and even run scenarios for different filing ages. It's much more reliable than trying to get through on the phone, and you can see exactly what your husband's estimated PIA would be at different ages. One last thing - consider consulting with a fee-only financial planner who specializes in Social Security strategies before making any major decisions. The rules are complex and the stakes are high given that these decisions can't easily be undone.