I'm really sorry for your loss, and I want to echo what others have said about how confusing this system can be during such a difficult time. I went through something similar when my father passed a few years ago. One thing I'd add to the excellent advice already given is to be prepared for the fact that even when you get through to SSA, different representatives may give you different answers to the same question. I literally had three different reps tell me three different things about my situation within the same week! What helped me was keeping a detailed log of every conversation - date, time, rep name (if they gave it), and exactly what they told me. When I finally got connected to a supervisor, having that documentation made a huge difference in getting accurate information. Also, if you're considering the strategy of taking survivor benefits at FRA and switching to your own at 70, make sure to ask about how Medicare enrollment timing works with that plan. The timing of when you start receiving benefits can affect when you need to enroll in Medicare Part B to avoid penalties - another layer of complexity they don't always explain clearly. You're being really smart by researching all this before making decisions. Take your time and don't let anyone pressure you into filing before you're confident in your strategy.

I'm so sorry for your loss. Going through this while grieving is incredibly difficult, and you're being very wise to research everything thoroughly before making decisions. I wanted to add something that hasn't been mentioned yet - when you do finally get through to SSA (whether through traditional phone lines or services like Claimyr that others mentioned), ask specifically about "protective filing." This allows you to establish an intent to file date while you're still gathering information and making your final decision. It can protect you from losing any potential back benefits if you decide to claim retroactively later. Also, since you mentioned making $68k annually and are concerned about the earnings test, consider whether your income varies significantly by month or if you have any control over the timing of bonuses, commissions, or other variable income. In the year you reach FRA, strategic timing of when you receive certain income could help you stay under the $59,520 limit for the months before your FRA. One more practical tip: if you have access to your late husband's Social Security statement or know his earnings history, you might be able to get a rough estimate of your survivor benefit amount using online calculators before speaking with SSA. This can help you verify whether the amounts they quote you are in the right ballpark. The strategy others outlined (survivor benefits at FRA, then switching to your own at 70) does sound promising based on your situation, but definitely get those exact numbers confirmed in writing before proceeding.

No, this only affects people who were subject to the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) or Government Pension Offset (GPO). These provisions reduced Social Security benefits for people who receive pensions from jobs that didn't pay into Social Security (like certain state/local government jobs, federal jobs under the Civil Service Retirement System, or foreign employment). If you never worked in one of these \

As someone who just started learning about this issue, I'm amazed by how much this law is helping people! Reading through all these experiences really shows how unfair WEP and GPO were. I had no idea that teachers and government workers were getting their Social Security benefits reduced just because they also earned a pension from their jobs. It seems like such a basic fairness issue - if you paid into Social Security, you should get what you earned, period. Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences and updates. It's really helpful to see the real-world impact of this change, especially for those still waiting for their adjustments. The fact that some people are seeing increases of $800+ per month is incredible - that's life-changing money for retirees on fixed incomes!

Update: Just received my letter in the mail today explaining the COLA adjustment! It says my first increased payment will be on the 4th Wednesday of this month, and the lump sum for retroactive adjustments will come within 10 business days after that. Going to mark my calendar and stop worrying. Thanks everyone for the helpful info!

Just wanted to share my experience for anyone still waiting - I'm also on the 4th Wednesday payment schedule and haven't received mine yet, but after reading all these responses I'm feeling much more confident about the timeline. It's really helpful to see that the SSA website doesn't update right away and that the money often shows up before any letters. I've been checking my bank account obsessively but now I know to just wait for my regular payment date. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and especially to those who provided the official schedule breakdown - this community is so valuable for getting real information when the official channels are hard to reach!

just to clarify I said 2023/2024 earlier but I mean't 2022/2023... I have covid brain fog today lol

As someone who went through this exact same decision process a few years ago, I can confirm what others have said - there's absolutely no automatic enrollment at any age. I was so paranoid about it that I actually printed out SSA's official guidance just to have it on hand! One thing I'd add to the excellent Roth conversion advice already given: consider doing "practice runs" with smaller conversion amounts in your first year to see how it affects your overall tax situation. I learned this the hard way when I did a larger conversion than planned and it pushed me into a higher bracket than I anticipated. Also, since you mentioned you're turning 62 in December, that gives you almost a full year to fine-tune your conversion strategy for 2025. Perfect timing to work with a tax professional to map out multi-year projections before you start the conversions.

I work in payroll administration and see this issue fairly often. What likely happened is that your employer submitted your W-2 information to SSA with either a transposed digit in your SSN or a slight name variation that prevented the automated matching system from crediting the earnings to your record. The SSA rep can see the "unmatched" wage data in their system - it's there, but it's essentially in limbo because the computer couldn't definitively match it to your specific earnings record. This is why she could tell you the employers and earnings amount but it's not showing up in your official record. For $11K from 1999, honestly it's probably not worth the paperwork hassle unless you're close to retirement and every dollar counts. The indexed value of those earnings for benefit calculation purposes would be relatively small compared to your more recent work years. If you're curious about the exact process, you could always request a detailed earnings inquiry from SSA, but based on what you've described, this sounds like a classic case of employer reporting error that created an unmatched record.

I had a similar issue with missing earnings from 2003! When I called SSA about it, the representative could see my employer information and even knew how much I made that year, but it wasn't showing up in my actual earnings record. She explained that sometimes the IRS data and SSA records don't sync properly due to reporting errors. In my case, it turned out my employer had submitted my W-2 with one digit wrong in my Social Security number. The earnings were sitting in SSA's system as "unmatched" - they had the data but couldn't link it to my record because of the SSN mismatch. I ended up fixing mine because I was worried about qualifying for disability benefits at the time, but it took about 6 months and a lot of paperwork. For your situation with $11K from 1999, the rep is probably right that it won't significantly impact your benefits. Those older earnings get indexed for inflation, but they're still relatively small compared to what you'd earn in more recent years. The fact that she mentioned employers from different years makes sense too - they're probably looking at a screen that shows multiple years of tax data all at once.