I had a very similar experience when I applied for my benefits last year! Like you, I was married for over 10 years and provided all my ex-husband's information on the application, but my approval letter only mentioned my own retirement benefit. I was worried I was missing out on something too. After calling SSA (which took forever to get through), they confirmed that they had already run both calculations - my own benefit versus the divorced spouse benefit - and my own was higher by about $95 per month. The agent explained that this is actually pretty common, especially for people who worked steadily throughout their careers. What surprised me was learning that even though my ex earned significantly more in his peak years, the Social Security formula favors consistent earnings over high peaks. Plus, since I worked for 38 years and he had some periods of unemployment early in his career, my benefit calculation came out ahead. The fact that they didn't request your marriage/divorce certificate is actually a good sign - they typically only ask for those documents when they need to process a spousal benefit claim. Since you provided his SSN and they have access to his earnings record, they could easily compare the two amounts electronically. Still worth calling to confirm for your peace of mind, but it sounds like you're already getting the higher benefit amount!

I'm going through a similar situation right now! Just applied for my benefits last month and I'm waiting for my approval letter. I was married to my ex for 14 years and he definitely earned more than me throughout our careers, so I'm curious to see if I'll get a similar result where my own benefit ends up being higher. Reading through all these responses has been really educational - I had no idea about the progressive formula or how consistent work history could sometimes beat out higher peak earnings. I worked pretty steadily for 35 years while my ex had some career changes and gaps, so maybe I'll be in a similar boat. Thanks for posting this question! It's helping me understand what to expect when I get my own letter. Hope everything works out smoothly when you call to verify!

I'm in a very similar situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I was also affected by WEP due to my teacher's pension and never pursued spousal benefits because I assumed they'd be reduced to nothing. Now with the repeal coming, I'm realizing I might have left money on the table. One thing I'm curious about - does anyone know if there's a statute of limitations on how far back they'll pay retroactive benefits once you provide the proper documentation? I've been collecting for 18 months already and I'm wondering if I'll only get the difference going forward, or if they'll recalculate back to my original start date. The SSA website mentions something about a 6-month retroactive limit for some benefit types, but I can't tell if that applies to this situation.

Great advice from everyone here! Just wanted to add one important point that I learned the hard way - when you go to your appointment, ask them to put a "remark" or "alert" in your file noting that you've requested consideration for divorced spouse benefits under the WEP/GPO repeal. I had a similar situation where I provided documents during one visit, but when I followed up months later, there was no record that anyone had ever looked into it. The remark helps ensure continuity if you end up dealing with different representatives later. Also, get the name and direct number of whoever handles your case - it can save you from starting over each time you call. The whole process is going to take months given the volume of WEP/GPO cases they'll be handling, so documentation of every step is crucial.

My sister works full time too and she said her office had an online form specifically for requesting a callback. Have you checked your local office's website? Some have different options than others.

I feel your pain! I'm in a similar situation - work 8-5 and my boss isn't thrilled about long personal calls either. What finally worked for me was using the SSA's "appointment request" feature on their website late at night (around 11pm when the site is less busy). You have to create a my Social Security account first, but then you can submit a request for a callback to schedule an appointment. It took about 5 business days, but they called me back and we scheduled everything over the phone during my lunch break. Way better than sitting on hold for hours! Also, since you mentioned retirement at 62 with spousal benefits involved, definitely ask about "restricted application" strategies when you do get through - there might be some timing advantages you can take advantage of.

I finally got through to SSA today! The agent told me my husband's PIA (what he would get at his FRA) is about $3,750, and half of that is $1,875. Since my benefit is $1,580, I qualify for an additional $295 per month in spousal benefits! They're processing it now and said I'll get retroactive payments to when I reached FRA. I'm so glad I asked about this - thank you everyone for your help!

Wow, this is such a helpful thread! I'm in a similar situation - I'm 66 and my husband is 68, both collecting our own Social Security. I never even thought about spousal benefits since we're both already getting our own checks. Reading through all these responses makes me realize I should probably check into this too. Does anyone know if there's a time limit on how long after you start collecting your own benefits you can apply for additional spousal benefits? I've been on Social Security for about 8 months now.

Just want to echo what everyone else has said - you're golden once you hit FRA! I'm 69 and have been collecting SS while working part-time ($35k/year) for the past two years with zero issues. The key thing that helped me was getting everything set up properly from the start. When I applied, I made sure to explicitly tell them I was planning to continue working and provided my expected annual earnings. This seemed to prevent any system glitches or automated holds on my benefits. One thing I'd suggest is keeping good records of your earnings throughout the year - not because SSA will reduce your benefits (they won't!), but because it helps with tax planning. With your $86k salary plus SS benefits, you'll definitely want to consider quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid a big bill at tax time. The "good problem to have" of managing two income streams! Best of luck with your application process.

As someone who just went through this exact situation last year, I can definitely confirm what everyone is saying! I turned 67 (my FRA) in September and have been collecting full Social Security benefits while continuing to work full-time making about $92k annually. Zero reductions in my monthly SS payments - I get every penny I'm entitled to. The only "gotcha" is definitely the taxes as others mentioned. Between my salary and SS benefits, I'm paying taxes on 85% of my Social Security, which was a bit of a shock at first. I ended up having to adjust my W-4 withholding at work to account for the additional taxable income from SS benefits. One tip that really helped me: I used the IRS withholding calculator online to figure out exactly how much extra to withhold from my paycheck to cover the SS taxes. It's much easier than dealing with quarterly payments! The peace of mind of having both income streams has been incredible though - highly recommend taking this approach if you can afford the tax hit.