has your husband looked into Extra Help for his Medicare costs? with his kidney disease and low income he might qualify. they could cover his premiums and maybe even the copays for his meds. my mom got on that program last year and it saved her over $200/month!

I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's health struggles. As someone who works in benefits advocacy, I wanted to add a few things that might help your situation: 1. **Medicare Secondary Payer for ESRD**: Since your husband has kidney disease and you're still working with employer insurance, make sure Medicare is coordinating properly with your work coverage. This could reduce some out-of-pocket costs. 2. **State Kidney Programs**: Many states have kidney disease programs that provide additional financial assistance for dialysis patients. Contact your state's health department to see what's available. 3. **Medicaid Spend-Down**: Even though his income might be slightly above Medicaid limits, some states have "spend-down" programs where high medical expenses can qualify someone for Medicaid coverage of costs that Medicare doesn't cover. 4. **Contact your local Area Agency on Aging**: They often have benefits counselors who can do a complete review of all programs he might qualify for - sometimes there are programs people don't even know exist. The spousal benefits question is complex, but don't overlook these other potential sources of help while you're deciding on the Social Security strategy. Sometimes combining multiple smaller programs can provide significant relief.

tell him good luck!!! my aunt says to make sure he brings his doctors phone numbers and addresses to the application. they ask for ALL that stuff and it slows things down if you dont have it ready

I went through this exact situation with my husband two years ago when he developed ESRD. One thing I'd add that hasn't been mentioned - make sure your brother keeps detailed records of his dialysis appointments and any work days he's missed due to treatment or complications. Even though ESRD is on the compassionate allowance list, having a clear paper trail showing how the treatment schedule interferes with normal work hours really strengthened our case. Also, his nephrologist should be willing to write a letter specifically stating that the dialysis schedule and associated fatigue make regular employment impossible - this was crucial for us. The whole process took about 6 weeks from application to approval, and having his employer's support during that time was invaluable. Wishing your brother the best with his treatment and application!

my daughters medicaid got messed up when she switched from ssi to dac benefits and it took MONTHS to fix!!! call your state medicaid office right away to ask about medicaid for disabled adult children who loss ssi. don't wait for ssa to tell you becuz they might not!

This is such a stressful situation but you're getting great advice here! I wanted to add that when my disabled son transitioned from SSI to DAC benefits on my husband's record, we discovered a few things that might help you prepare: 1. The interview will likely take 45-60 minutes, so block out plenty of time 2. They'll ask detailed questions about her daily living activities and work capacity, even though she's already been approved for SSI 3. Have her Social Security card, birth certificate, and current benefit letter handy 4. Write down questions beforehand because it's easy to forget important things during the call The transition ended up being worth it financially for us - my son went from $914/month SSI to $1,247/month on DAC benefits. The temporary Medicaid gap was stressful but we got it sorted out. Don't let the bureaucracy overwhelm you - advocate for your daughter and keep pushing for clear answers!

Definitely contact the SSA directly. I've found the SSA agents to be very knowledgeable and helpful once you actually get to speak with one. They'll need your husband's SSN and earnings history to give you an accurate estimate. Since it's been quite a while since his passing, having his SSN and death certificate information handy when you call will speed things up.

I'm in a similar situation - widow at 58 and trying to plan ahead. One thing I learned from my research is that you might also want to check if you're eligible for any divorced spouse benefits if you were married to anyone else for 10+ years before your husband. Sometimes people don't realize they have multiple options to consider. Also, when you do call SSA, ask them to run scenarios for you at different claiming ages (60, 62, your FRA, etc.) and get those numbers in writing if possible. I've heard stories of people getting different answers from different representatives, so having documentation helps. The representatives are usually very patient about explaining the calculations if you ask them to walk through it step by step. Good luck with getting through to them - the wait times can be brutal but it's worth it for accurate numbers for your planning!

After reading through this thread, I want to offer some additional information that might help with your decision: 1. You can request a detailed benefit calculation from SSA that will show exactly what your benefit would be at 62, FRA, and 70, as well as what your husband's spousal benefit would be once you file. 2. Remember that if you file at 62, your benefit will be reduced by approximately 30% from your FRA amount for life. 3. If your husband is receiving $625/month now, and your FRA benefit would be around $3,400, then his spousal benefit would potentially increase his total to around $1,700 (half your FRA amount). 4. This means filing at 62 could give him an additional $1,075/month, but would permanently reduce your own benefit by about $1,000/month compared to what you'd get at FRA. 5. The breakeven calculation should consider both your life expectancies and immediate financial needs. Have you considered whether you might work part-time between 62-67? If you claim benefits early but continue working, you'd be subject to the earnings test, which could temporarily reduce or eliminate your benefits until you reach FRA.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet is that you might want to consider a "file and suspend" strategy if it's still available, though I believe the rules changed in 2016. Also, since you're still 5 years away from 62, you have time to potentially increase your benefit even more by maximizing your earnings in these final working years. Social Security calculates benefits based on your highest 35 years of earnings, so if you're earning more now than in some of your earlier years, these next 5 years could significantly boost your eventual benefit. Another consideration: have you looked into whether your husband might be eligible for any other benefits? Sometimes people miss out on things like supplemental security income (SSI) if their regular Social Security is very low, though I'm not sure if his pension would disqualify him. Given that you're planning to work until 65+ anyway and would be subject to the earnings test, waiting definitely seems like the right call. The extra spousal benefit for a few years likely won't offset the permanent reduction to your own benefit that you'd be receiving for potentially 25+ years.