everyones ignoring the obvious - 20 yr olds change jobs like they change clothes. my kids had like 5 diff jobs by age 25. she prob wont even be there next yr so why stress about it

As someone who's dealt with similar decisions, I'd say don't overthink this one. At 20 with a part-time job making $12k/year, the PARS contributions are minimal and unlikely to significantly impact her Social Security benefits decades from now. The WEP reduction is proportional to your non-covered pension amount - a small pension from 2-3 years of part-time work would result in a very small WEP reduction, if any. Plus, if she ends up with 30+ years of substantial Social Security earnings (which is likely given her age), WEP won't apply at all. I'd focus on her building good work experience and figuring out her career path rather than worrying about retirement systems at this stage. The financial impact of this decision is probably much smaller than you think.

You actually only need 40 quarters (10 years) to qualify for your own retirement benefit. With 15 years of even part-time work, you might qualify! Definitely check your my Social Security account online. If you do have your own benefit, you'll receive the higher of: 1) your own reduced retirement benefit, or 2) your reduced spousal benefit. They don't stack - you get the larger of the two.

Just wanted to add my experience here - I went through this exact same situation two years ago! My husband filed at 62 and I was worried my spousal benefits would be tiny. But like everyone else confirmed, it's based on his full retirement age amount (PIA), not what he's actually getting. The SSA representative I finally got through to was really helpful and calculated it out for me on the spot. She explained that his early filing penalty stays with him - it doesn't get passed down to affect my spousal benefit base calculation. The only reduction I get is for MY early filing. I ended up getting about $920/month at age 62, which was way better than I expected! Definitely create your my Social Security account online first - it'll show you estimates and your earnings record so you know exactly what to expect before you apply.

I went through a very similar situation with my disabled daughter a few years ago. One thing that might be worth considering is the timing of when your husband applies versus when you apply. Since you're the higher earner, your son's potential CDB benefit on your record will likely be significantly higher than on your husband's record. Here's what we learned: If your husband files first at 62, your son can immediately switch from SSI to CDB on his record. Then later when you file for retirement (whenever that is), your son can potentially switch again to the higher benefit on your record if it's more advantageous. The key is that once someone is receiving CDB, they can usually switch to a higher-paying parent's record when that parent becomes eligible. Also, don't forget that when your son switches from SSI to CDB, he'll no longer be subject to those strict SSI asset and income limits, which can be a huge relief for the whole family's financial planning. We were finally able to help our daughter save some money and have a small inheritance without it affecting her benefits. Definitely get those calculations from SSA - the difference in potential benefits between your record and your husband's could be substantial given the earnings gap you mentioned.

I work as a benefits counselor and see families in your exact situation regularly. A few additional points that might help: First, regarding the timing strategy - since you mentioned your husband just turned 62, you have some flexibility here. One approach to consider: your husband could file for his retirement benefits now (even with the reduction) to get your son immediately onto CDB benefits and off the restrictive SSI program. This gives your son 5 extra years of the higher CDB payments and eliminates the SSI asset/income restrictions right away. When you reach 62 in 7 years, you can evaluate whether your son should switch to CDB on your higher-earning record. The math might work out favorably even with your husband's reduced benefit, especially considering your son gets those extra years of higher payments. Also, make sure to ask SSA about retroactive benefits when your son switches from SSI to CDB - sometimes there can be back payments involved if the application process takes time. One last thing - if your son is currently receiving Medicaid through his SSI eligibility, switching to CDB shouldn't affect his Medicaid in most states, but definitely confirm this with your local Medicaid office as healthcare coverage is crucial. The system is complex, but you're asking all the right questions. Good luck!

BTW dont forget bout paying taxes on ur SS benifits if ur making other money too!! My brother got hit with a big tax bill cuz he didnt know his part time job would make his SS taxable!!

As someone who went through SSDI to retirement conversion recently, I can confirm what others have said - they absolutely base it on your actual benefit amount, not potential earnings. The system doesn't consider "what if" scenarios about continued work. Your situation sounds almost identical to mine - I was also getting around $2,400/month on SSDI when I converted. The good news is the conversion itself is seamless and automatic at Full Retirement Age. The potentially disappointing news (which you've already figured out) is that with your benefit being $2,450 and your wife's being $1,750, neither of you would qualify for spousal benefits since both your individual benefits exceed 50% of the other's. One thing I'd recommend is double-checking your wife's actual Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) rather than just her current payment, as there can sometimes be small differences due to early filing reductions or other factors. But based on the numbers you provided, it's unlikely to change the outcome. The conversion process itself was pretty straightforward for me - just make sure to verify everything looks correct in your MySocialSecurity account once it happens!

My neighbor had this same problem! She ended up just going in person to the local office with the W-4V form filled out. Said it was way faster than trying to call or mail it in.

As someone who just went through this process myself, I can confirm that the tax withholding option is buried pretty deep in the online application - it's easy to miss! The good news is you have several options to fix this. Since you just applied 2 weeks ago and your benefits haven't started yet, I'd definitely recommend calling SSA first to see if they can add withholding before processing your first payment. If that doesn't work out, the W-4V form is your backup plan. Just be prepared that it might take a couple months to take effect, so you'll want to set aside money from your first few payments for taxes. Given that you have other income sources, you'll definitely want some form of withholding in place to avoid a big tax bill next year!