I'm so sorry to hear about your sister's diagnosis. As someone who works in disability advocacy, I want to emphasize what others have said - apply for SSDI immediately. Pancreatic cancer does qualify for the Compassionate Allowance program, but even expedited cases take 3-4 months minimum. A few additional tips that might help: - When filling out the application, be very detailed about how her symptoms affect her daily activities and work capacity - Consider having a family member help her complete the forms since treatment can be exhausting - If she has any mental health impacts from the diagnosis (anxiety, depression), make sure those are documented too as they can affect her claim The LTD coordination is standard - most policies require SSDI applications within 90-180 days. The good news is that while LTD will offset payments once SSDI is approved, she'll receive retroactive SSDI payments back to her application date (minus the 5-month waiting period). Stay organized with all paperwork and don't hesitate to follow up with SSA if you don't hear back within reasonable timeframes. Wishing your family strength during this difficult time.

I'm so sorry about your sister's diagnosis. My father went through something similar with pancreatic cancer two years ago, so I understand how overwhelming this all feels. Everyone here has given excellent advice about applying for SSDI immediately. I want to add one thing that really helped us - consider reaching out to a social worker at the hospital or cancer center where she's receiving treatment. Many have specialists who help patients navigate disability applications and can provide letters of support for the SSDI claim. Also, regarding the life insurance - most group life insurance policies have a "waiver of premium" benefit that keeps the coverage active during disability without having to pay premiums. Ask HR about this specifically when discussing the LTD benefits. One more practical tip: if possible, set up online accounts for both SSA (my.ssa.gov) and her employer's benefits portal now while she's feeling relatively well. It makes tracking applications and managing benefits much easier when treatment gets more intensive. You're being a wonderful advocate for your sister during this difficult time. Take care of yourself too.

My condolences on your father-in-law's passing. Just to share my experience - when my husband died, I was really confused about the whole survivor benefit process too. The amount they told me seemed too high at first, but it turned out to be correct. One thing that helped me was talking to other widows in my church group who'd been through the same process. Sometimes hearing from regular people who've navigated the same system is reassuring.

I went through something very similar when my father passed away in 2022. My mom was shocked by her survivor benefit amount - it was almost double what she expected! Like your mother-in-law, my dad had a great career early on but then worked sporadically for his last 20 years. What really helped us was getting an appointment at the local SSA office (took about 3 weeks to get in) and having them walk through the calculation step by step. They showed us his complete earnings history and explained how the indexing works - earnings from the 1980s were worth WAY more than we realized after inflation adjustments. The key thing is that they calculate based on his highest 35 years of earnings, not his most recent years. So even though he barely worked the last two decades, those early high-earning years still counted heavily in the formula. My advice: get all the documentation others mentioned, but don't panic. In our case, the high amount was completely legitimate. Your father-in-law's early successful career is likely the reason for the higher benefit. Just verify it's calculated correctly and then your MIL can make informed decisions about her future.

Great questions! I'll try to help based on what I learned when my mom went through this process: 1. There isn't a specific form to fill out beforehand - it's all handled during the phone appointment. The SSA rep will gather all the info and process the application during that call. They'll send any paperwork that needs signatures by mail. 2. For documents, definitely have ready: marriage certificate, death certificate, birth certificates (yours and spouse's), Social Security cards, last few years of tax returns, bank account info for direct deposit, and any military discharge papers if applicable. Also helpful to have your spouse's W-2s or self-employment records to verify earnings history. 3. You absolutely need to ask them to verify the delayed retirement credits calculation! Don't assume they'll get it right automatically. My mom had to specifically ask them to walk through the math showing how they calculated her benefit amount. The first rep got it wrong and we had to call back to get it corrected. I'd also suggest creating a simple one-page summary with all your key info (SSNs, dates of birth, marriage date, etc.) so your wife doesn't have to hunt for details during an already stressful call. The more organized and prepared she is, the smoother the process will go. The SSA website really doesn't prepare you for the reality of dealing with their system. These real-world experiences are invaluable!

As someone who just went through the survivor benefits process 6 months ago, I can confirm that bringing someone with you is EXTREMELY helpful. My sister came with me to the SSA office and it made all the difference. She took notes while I focused on answering questions, and she caught several things the rep glossed over quickly. A few additional tips from my experience: - Write down the rep's name and direct number if they give one - Ask for a written summary of what benefits you'll receive and when - If they say you're not eligible for something, ask them to explain exactly why in writing - Don't leave without a clear timeline of when your first payment will arrive One thing that really helped was that my husband had written a simple letter before he passed explaining our situation and what benefits I should be entitled to. When the SSA rep tried to shortchange me on the delayed retirement credits calculation, I was able to reference his notes and push back confidently. The rep "suddenly" found the error and corrected it. The whole system is unfortunately designed to wear you down, but being prepared and having support makes it manageable. Document everything and don't be afraid to advocate for yourself!

This is such a complex situation! As someone who's been researching Social Security strategies, I want to emphasize that the decision really depends on your specific numbers. Here's what I'd suggest: 1. **Get exact benefit projections** - Contact SSA (or use a service like others mentioned) to get precise estimates of your PIA and what your children's benefits would be. This will help you calculate whether the combined family benefits (even reduced by earnings test) exceed what you'd get by waiting. 2. **Consider the timing window** - Your 16-year-old will only be eligible for about 2 years max, while your 14-year-old has about 4 years. That's potentially $50,000+ in benefits they could receive if you file early, versus $0 if you wait. 3. **Don't forget the "first year rule"** - As Jasmine mentioned, if you could arrange to stop working completely by May 2026 instead of continuing part-time through December, you might avoid most of the earnings test penalty while still capturing those crucial months of children's benefits. 4. **Tax planning** - With $31K in earnings plus SS benefits, you'll likely owe taxes on 50-85% of your SS benefits. Factor this into your calculations. The math might actually favor filing early despite the complications. Have you considered meeting with a Social Security claiming specialist to run the exact numbers?

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to share some additional considerations that might help with your decision, Saleem. I recently went through a similar analysis for a family member, and one thing that really stood out was the importance of looking at the "survivor benefit" implications. If something were to happen to you, your children would be eligible for survivor benefits based on your earnings record. However, these survivor benefits are calculated based on your actual benefit amount at the time of death - not your PIA. So if you take the 30% reduction by filing at 62, that reduction would carry forward to their potential survivor benefits as well. On the flip side, given that your older child only has about 2 years of eligibility remaining, the guaranteed income from dependent benefits (even if reduced by the earnings test) might outweigh the long-term survivor benefit considerations. Also, I haven't seen anyone mention that you might want to explore whether your employer offers any flexibility with your part-time schedule. If you could structure your work to earn less than the monthly earnings limit after you file (around $1,900/month for 2026), you could potentially qualify for that first-year retirement rule that Jasmine mentioned earlier. This could be a game-changer for your situation. Have you calculated what your actual monthly earnings would be from that $31K annual part-time income?

Perfect, thanks again! I feel much better understanding how this works now. I appreciate everyone taking time to explain.

One thing that might help your ex-wife plan ahead is knowing that she can get an estimate of her potential benefits through her my Social Security account on ssa.gov. The system will show her both her own retirement benefit estimate and what she could potentially receive as a divorced spouse benefit based on your record (once you're eligible). This can help her make an informed decision about when to claim. Also, if she does remarry in the future, she would lose the ability to claim on your record, but she could then potentially claim on her new spouse's record instead if that marriage lasts at least 10 years.