Quick question - does anyone know if changing banks affects when you receive your payment? Like, will it delay things for a month or something?

Just wanted to add - if you're switching from one bank to another, make sure to keep your old account open for at least a month after the change goes through. I made the mistake of closing mine too early and when there was a small delay in processing, SSA tried to deposit to the closed account and it caused a whole mess. Learned that lesson the hard way! 😅

My brother is disabled and gets SS benefits. When my mom switched her benefits it didn't affect him at all so I think you're worrying too much. But the system is SO BROKEN you should expect problems anyway!!! It took them FOREVER to process my disability claim!!!

I went through this exact situation 6 months ago when I turned FRA. I was receiving spouse benefits while caring for my disabled adult daughter who gets DAC benefits on my husband's record. I was so nervous about potentially disrupting everything, but I'm glad I applied for my own retirement benefits - I ended up getting an extra $180/month! Here's what actually happened: I applied online about 2 months before my FRA birthday. SSA automatically compared my potential retirement benefit to my current spouse benefit and switched me to the higher amount. My daughter's benefits continued without any interruption whatsoever. One tip that really helped me: when I filled out the online application, I wrote in the remarks section "Currently receiving spouse benefits while caring for disabled adult child. Please compare to retirement benefit and pay higher amount." This made it crystal clear what I wanted them to do. The whole process took about 6 weeks and I received a letter explaining the comparison and my new benefit amount. Don't let the horror stories scare you too much - most cases go smoothly, you just don't hear about those online!

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.

One additional important point: if your ex-spouse has passed away (which doesn't appear to be the case here, but for others reading), you might be eligible for divorced survivor benefits which can be up to 100% of what your ex-spouse was receiving, rather than the 50% for divorced spouse benefits when the ex is still living. This is a significant difference that many divorcees aren't aware of. For the original poster, since your ex waited until 70 to claim, his benefit includes delayed retirement credits. However, as a divorced spouse, your potential benefit is based on 50% of his primary insurance amount (what he would get at full retirement age), not including those delayed credits. The reduction for your early claiming would still apply to any divorced spouse benefit you might receive.

I'm in a very similar situation! I started collecting my benefits at 63 (needed the income after losing my job) and just turned 74. My ex and I were married for 16 years, and I never remarried either. Reading through these responses has been so helpful - I had no idea I might be eligible for divorced spouse benefits even though I'm already collecting my own reduced benefits. One thing I'm wondering about that I haven't seen mentioned yet - does anyone know if there's a time limit on how long after your divorce you can apply for these benefits? We've been divorced for almost 20 years now, and I'm worried I might have waited too long to look into this option. Also, for those who have successfully switched or supplemented their benefits - how long did the whole process take from application to receiving the increased payments? I'm hoping it's not a months-long wait since I'm living pretty tight on my current benefit amount. Thanks to everyone sharing their experiences here - this community is such a valuable resource!

Good plan. Make sure to specifically ask them to calculate both amounts for you before making a final decision. Sometimes the difference can be very small, and it's worth understanding exactly what you'll receive. Best of luck with your appointment!

One thing to add that might help with your planning - if you're still working and earning income, be aware of the earnings test rules even though you're at FRA. Since you've reached your full retirement age, there's no earnings limit that would reduce your Social Security benefits, so you can work and collect your full benefit amount without any penalties. This is different from people who claim benefits before their FRA. Also, when you do file, make sure to ask SSA to provide you with a written breakdown showing exactly how they calculated both your own retirement benefit and the ex-spouse benefit amount. Having this documentation can be really helpful for your records and future planning. The whole process can feel overwhelming, but you're asking all the right questions!