Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I'm definitely going to go ahead with applying for spousal benefits after we get married. Just to make sure I understand correctly: I'll continue to receive my current benefit plus the difference to make it up to 50% of his benefit, and there's no waiting period to apply once we're married. I'll make sure to bring our marriage certificate to the SSA office. And I appreciate the reminder about survivor benefits too - that gives me peace of mind for the future.

Just wanted to add one more practical tip - when you go to the SSA office to apply for spousal benefits, I'd recommend calling ahead to make an appointment rather than just walking in. The wait times can be really long without an appointment, especially at the beginning of the month when a lot of people are dealing with benefit issues. Also, bring a copy of your marriage certificate in addition to the original, as they sometimes like to keep a copy for their records. The whole process should be pretty straightforward since you're already in their system receiving your own benefits. Good luck with your wedding and the benefit increase!

my aunt had this happen she just called and cried to the lady and they reduced what she had to pay back. worth a try lol

I went through a similar situation a few years back with a $22,000 overpayment due to unreported workers' comp benefits. Here's what I learned from the experience: First, you're absolutely right to self-report - this will definitely work in your favor during the waiver process. When I finally got through to SSA (took weeks of trying), they noted in my file that I voluntarily disclosed the issue. Regarding the tax situation, everyone here is correct - SSA won't reduce the overpayment amount because of taxes you paid. However, I want to emphasize how valuable that tax relief can be. In my case, using the "claim of right" provision when I filed taxes the year I made repayments resulted in about $4,800 back from the IRS. It doesn't eliminate the sting, but it helps significantly. My advice for the process: When you call SSA, immediately request Form SSA-632 (waiver request) and ask about setting up a payment plan while the waiver is being reviewed. In my case, they approved a $75/month payment plan which was manageable on my fixed income. The waiver took about 8 months to process (they denied it, but the payment plan stayed in place). One more tip: document EVERYTHING. Take notes during phone calls including the representative's name and badge number. I had to reference these notes multiple times when information got mixed up in my file. Good luck - this process is stressful but manageable if you stay organized and persistent.

I called SSA this morning and finally got through after trying for days! The agent explained that my benefit is actually a combination of my own small retirement benefit plus a spousal supplement that brings the total to $1,200. The math works out exactly as you all explained! She said my own benefit at 62 was calculated at $320 (reduced from my PIA of about $500), and then they added a reduced spousal supplement of $880 to reach $1,200 total. The full spousal benefit would have been around $1,950 if I'd waited until my FRA. I'm kicking myself a bit for not waiting, but at the time we really needed the income. At least now I understand how they calculated it. Thank you all so much for your help!

Has anyone noticed that the SSA calculators online are TERRIBLE at explaining spousal benefits? They focus almost entirely on retirement benefits based on your own record. Their website barely mentions that spousal benefits don't increase past FRA! I spent HOURS researching this when helping my mother with her benefits. The most important details are buried in footnotes or completely missing!

I just want to thank everyone for their helpful responses. I had no idea I might still be eligible for survivor benefits after all these years! I've scheduled an appointment with my local SSA office for next week and will bring all the documents suggested. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high since my husband was so young when he died and didn't have a long work history, but even a small increase would be helpful with my medical bills. I'll update once I find out what they say. I appreciate all of you taking the time to respond to my situation!

I'm so glad you're pursuing this! Your situation really highlights how important it is for people to know about all their potential benefits. The fact that you've been eligible for survivor benefits this whole time but didn't know it is unfortunately way too common. One thing I haven't seen mentioned yet - when you go to your appointment, you might also want to ask about Medicare Supplement Insurance benefits if you're not already enrolled. Sometimes people on disability retirement miss out on certain Medicare enrollment opportunities, and survivor benefits can sometimes affect your Medicare options too. Also, don't be discouraged if the first person you talk to seems unsure about the calculations for such an old case. These situations with decades-old survivor benefits don't come up every day, so you might need to ask to speak with a supervisor or specialist who has more experience with complex survivor benefit calculations. Persistence really pays off with SSA! Wishing you the best of luck - I really hope you get some good news that helps with those medical expenses!

One last thing to consider: If your ex-spouse hasn't filed for their benefits yet, you can still receive divorced spouse benefits based on their record as long as you've been divorced for at least 2 years and they're eligible for benefits (even if not claiming yet). This is called the two-year divorce rule or 'independently entitled divorced spouse' benefits. Just another factor to consider in your planning.

One thing I'd like to add from my experience working with SSA benefits: Don't forget that divorced spouse benefits are based on your ex's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), not what they're actually receiving if they filed early or late. So even if your ex filed at 62 and gets a reduced benefit, your divorced spouse benefit would still be calculated from their full retirement age amount. This is actually favorable for you! Also, just to confirm what others have said - you'll definitely need to call after filing online to make sure they calculate both options. The online system just doesn't have that comparison feature built in unfortunately.