Just wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful - since you mentioned you're waiting until closer to your full retirement age, make sure you understand the earnings test if you do decide to work part-time. If you claim benefits before your FRA and earn too much from work, SSA will temporarily reduce your benefits (though you get credit for this later). But if you're not claiming benefits yet, you can earn as much as you want without any penalty. This might actually be the perfect time to do some part-time work to boost those final years in your calculation!

Exactly right! Since you're not yet claiming Social Security benefits, you can work and earn as much as you want without any impact on your future benefits - it can only help. The earnings test only kicks in if you're already receiving benefits before your full retirement age. This is actually a great strategy many people use - work a few years between stopping their main career and claiming SS to boost their calculation. Even if you only worked part-time making $20,000-25,000 per year for 2-3 years, those earnings would replace zeros in your 35-year calculation and could meaningfully increase your monthly benefit for the rest of your life. Plus you'd be paying into the system longer, which never hurts!

Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I'll plan to apply in June, 3 months before my September birthday. I'll also start gathering my documentation now - birth certificate, tax records for those missing earnings years, etc. I'm going to check my Medicare enrollment status too since a couple of you mentioned that could be related. If I have trouble reaching SSA by phone, I'll try that Claimyr service someone mentioned. It's frustrating how complicated they make this process, but I feel much better prepared now.

Just want to add - if you're planning to work past 70, make sure you understand how your continued earnings might affect your Social Security taxes. Even though you'll be receiving benefits, you'll still pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on your wages. The good news is that these additional earnings can potentially increase your future benefit amounts if they're higher than one of your previous 35 highest-earning years. SSA recalculates your benefits automatically each year if your new earnings boost your average. Also, don't forget that your Social Security benefits will be subject to federal income tax if your combined income (AGI + nontaxable interest + half of SS benefits) exceeds certain thresholds - something to factor into your tax planning since you'll have both wages and SS income.

Thank you all SO MUCH for your incredibly helpful advice. I've learned more here than in all my conversations with friends and family about this situation. Based on your suggestions, I'm going to: 1. Schedule an in-person appointment with SSA (with all documents ready) 2. Apply for my daughter's survivor benefits immediately 3. Strongly consider reducing my work hours to get under the earnings limit so I can also claim some survivor benefits while caring for her 4. Plan to switch to my own retirement benefit at FRA or 70 I feel like I finally have a roadmap now! If anyone has additional thoughts or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. And I'll try to come back and update on how things go with SSA. Thanks again for all your help!

Just wanted to add one more thing that might be helpful - when you go to your SSA appointment, ask them to run a "what-if" scenario showing your projected benefits under different claiming strategies. They have software that can model out your lifetime benefits if you claim survivor benefits now vs. waiting, and factor in your higher retirement benefit. Also, since you mentioned this isn't your passion job, don't forget that if you do reduce hours and claim survivor benefits, you'll still be earning Social Security credits toward your own retirement benefit as long as you're earning at least $1,730 per quarter (for 2025). So working part-time won't hurt your future retirement benefit calculations. One last tip: If the first SSA representative seems unsure about the adoption/survivor benefit rules, politely ask to speak with a supervisor or someone who specializes in survivor benefits. This isn't a common situation and not all reps will be familiar with the nuances. You deserve accurate information for such an important decision!

One more thought - since you're at your FRA already, you should look into whether you might qualify for SSI (Supplemental Security Income) if your current Social Security retirement benefit is very low. SSI can provide additional income for those with limited resources. The qualification rules are complicated, but it might be worth investigating. SSI is different from regular Social Security retirement benefits and has different eligibility requirements based on financial need rather than work history.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation - being just shy of 10 years is incredibly frustrating! While you unfortunately can't qualify for survivor benefits from your first husband's record, I wanted to mention one thing that might be worth double-checking. Sometimes people forget about common-law marriage periods that might count toward the 10-year requirement in certain states. If you lived together as married before your legal ceremony in a state that recognizes common-law marriage, those years could potentially count. It's a long shot, but might be worth asking SSA about if applicable to your situation. Also, make sure when you review your earnings record that they've credited you properly for any years you worked while married - sometimes spousal Social Security numbers get mixed up in their system and credits go to the wrong person.

One other piece of advice - if you expect to earn over the limit, you can voluntarily suspend your benefits for any months you expect to exceed it, rather than having SSA calculate the withholding. This can give you more control over when the reductions occur. Just contact SSA before the month you want to suspend. You can then resume benefits in months where your earnings will be lower.

Just wanted to add one more consideration for your planning - make sure you understand how the earnings test calculates "earnings." It only counts wages and net self-employment income, NOT things like pensions, 401k withdrawals, investment income, rental income, or other retirement income. So if you're transitioning to part-time work but also have other income sources, only your actual work earnings count toward that $22,320 limit. This might give you more flexibility in your income planning than you initially thought!