Dealing with international benefits is SO complicated! When my uncle retired with pensions from both US and Germany, it took him almost 8 months to get everything sorted out. Have you checked the US-UK totalization agreement details? Sometimes there are specific provisions for different countries.

One important point for everyone following this discussion - while the Social Security Fairness Act would eliminate WEP/GPO for domestic public employees, international pension issues are typically governed by bilateral Social Security agreements (totalization agreements). These agreements are negotiated country-by-country and have their own unique provisions. If you have work history in multiple countries, it's essential to understand both the general WEP rules and the specific provisions of any applicable totalization agreement. These agreements help determine: 1. Whether you can combine work credits from both countries to qualify for benefits 2. How benefits are calculated when you have split work histories 3. Which country's benefits you're eligible to receive The US-UK agreement helps prevent double taxation and allows for totalizing credits, but it doesn't completely eliminate WEP reductions.

Something nobody mentioned yet - even if she has to wait til 62, she should check if taking divorced spouse benefits early would permanently reduce them. Sometimes better to wait!!! My cousin took early and regrets it now!!!

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I spoke with my sister and we're going to: 1) Have her call SSA and specifically ask about "disabled divorced spouse benefits" 2) Request to speak with a technical expert who knows these rules 3) Ask for a written explanation of her options and 4) Make sure she understands any potential reductions if she has to wait until 62. I'll update if we get a clear answer!

That makes PERFECT sense and explains the confusion! His benefit is right around $3,100 and she said the family max was about $5,200. So she was saying the family would get about 67% MORE in total, not that each dependent would get 67% of his benefit. Thank you for helping me make sense of this!

I'm glad you got that sorted out! Just wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful - when you do call SSA back to confirm everything, ask them to mail you a written benefit estimate that shows the breakdown for each family member. Having it in writing can prevent any confusion later and gives you something to reference if there are discrepancies when payments start. I learned this the hard way when our family went through the SSDI process. The written estimates are usually pretty accurate and can save you a lot of headaches down the road.

Unfortunately, yes - if you were born in 1963, deemed filing applies to you. When you file for any benefit, you'll be deemed to have filed for all benefits you're eligible for, and you'll receive the higher of the two (your own or the divorced spousal), not both. This means your strategy of taking divorced spousal while letting your own grow isn't available to you. The law changed with the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015. Only people born before Jan 2, 1954 were grandfathered into the old rules. Since you mentioned your own benefit would be higher at 67, you're probably better off just waiting to file for any benefits until closer to your FRA, especially if your earnings from working would cause a reduction under the earnings test anyway.

I'm so sorry to hear about the change in your retirement strategy! The deemed filing rule really did eliminate a lot of flexibility for people in your situation. But don't give up hope yet - there might still be some options worth exploring. Since you're planning to retire at 62 and your own benefit will be higher at 67, you might want to consider: 1. Working part-time until your FRA to avoid the early filing reduction penalties 2. If you do need income before 67, remember that the earnings test goes away completely once you reach FRA, so any benefits withheld due to excess earnings get added back to your future payments 3. Consider doing some Roth conversions now while you're still working and in potentially lower tax brackets, to reduce future RMDs that could push you into higher SS taxation brackets Also, make sure to get an updated benefit estimate from SSA that shows both your own projected benefit and the divorced spousal benefit, so you can see exactly what the numbers look like under deemed filing. The silver lining is that at least you found out about this now and can adjust your planning accordingly!

My sister-in-law just went through this exact situation last year! Her situation was almost identical - teacher pension and husband had claimed early. One thing no one mentioned yet - if your husband's benefit increased due to COLAs over the years since he claimed at 62, those increases ARE included in the survivor benefit calculation. So that might give you a bit more than you're expecting.

I'm dealing with a similar situation as a retired school counselor. One thing that helped me was creating a simple spreadsheet to track all the calculations. I listed my monthly pension amount, multiplied by 2/3 for the GPO reduction, then subtracted that from my estimated survivor benefit. Also, don't forget that if you're not yet receiving your teacher pension when you apply for survivor benefits, the GPO won't apply until you actually start receiving the pension payments. So there might be a window where you get the full survivor benefit before your pension kicks in. The timing can make a real difference in your overall financial planning, especially if you have flexibility in when you start your pension. Good luck navigating this maze!