my sister inlaw kept working after she started ss and they took back 7 months of payments from her the next year. be careful!

One more important thing to understand: if they do withhold some of your benefits because you exceed the earnings limit, it's not lost forever. They'll recalculate and increase your monthly benefit when you reach your Full Retirement Age to account for the months they withheld benefits. And remember, the earnings limit only applies to wages or self-employment income. It doesn't apply to investment income, pension payments, or other non-work income. Good luck with your seasonal work pattern - sounds like you've got a good handle on it now!

This is completely normal. Your own benefit is called your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). The spousal benefit is a supplement that ensures you get the higher of: your own benefit OR up to 50% of your spouse's PIA (reduced for early claiming). The adjustment happens automatically when your own benefit changes. Nothing to worry about!

Based on your situation, here's what likely happened: 1. When you initially filed, you received your reduced retirement benefit plus a spousal add-on to reach your total entitled amount 2. Those 6 years of part-time work were recently added to your earnings record during an automatic recomputation 3. This increased your own benefit amount based on those additional earnings 4. Since your total entitlement remained the same, the spousal portion decreased accordingly This is working correctly. The formula ensures you receive the correct total amount you're entitled to, regardless of how it's divided between your own benefit and the spousal supplement.

Everybody keeps saying FRA this and FRA that but nobody says what it actually IS???

Just sharing my experience - I'm getting survivor benefits now at age 66 (my FRA) after taking my own reduced benefits at 62. When my husband passed last year, SSA automatically gave me the higher amount (his benefit). I didn't have to do anything special because they already had his death certificate from the funeral home. Maybe it varies by state though.

i forgot to say make sure u keep ALL paperwork they send u. my sister threw away what looked like junk mail but was actually important SS stuff & it was a huge mess to fix

One final consideration: Double-check when your FRA actually is for survivor benefits. For retirement benefits, FRA for someone born in 1962 is 67. But for survivor benefits, the FRA can be different - it could be 66 and 10 months. This small difference matters for planning purposes if you want to completely avoid the earnings test.

Another question - how will they calculate the survivor benefit amount? Will it be based on what it would have been when the person first became eligible, or will it be based on what they would receive if applying now? There could be COLAs and other adjustments that would make a difference!

I just want to thank everyone for their thoughtful responses. This is exactly the kind of discussion I was hoping for. I'm going to help my mother prepare all her documentation so we're ready to file as soon as the law is signed, and I'll specifically request retroactive benefits to January 2024 with a clear explanation about why she never filed before. If anyone gets actual information from SSA about this specific situation once the law is signed, please come back and update this thread. I'll do the same if we learn anything concrete during our application process.

My cousin had name change issues with SS and it was a NIGHTMARE to fix. Took like 6 months to sort out!

Don't stress too much about the withholding form - it's pretty straightforward. For your husband, I'd suggest waiting until he gets his approval letter with his claim number before submitting his W-4V. That way everything will match up in their system. Has your husband checked his my Social Security account online to see the status of his application? Sometimes you can see if they need additional documents there.

I had something similar happen with my disability benefits. I got through to SSA by calling my local office directly instead of the main number. Google "social security office [your city]" and you might find a direct number. Worked for me!

Just wanted to update on my earlier comment - I remembered something else that might help you. When I finally got through to SSA about my wrong account number, they told me I could go to my bank and see if they could help. My bank actually called SSA on a special line they have and helped resolve it in about a week. Might be worth asking your bank if they can help!

my sister went thru this last yr. don't forget hes still eligible for the lump sum death benefit when u pass away even with GPO. not much but its something.

One final point that might help others in similar situations: If your husband had enough Social Security-covered employment (40 quarters/10 years), he would be exempt from the WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) that could otherwise reduce his own benefit. But GPO still applies to spousal benefits regardless of quarters of coverage. The distinction between WEP (affects your own benefit) and GPO (affects spousal/survivor benefits) confuses many people. And unfortunately, there's been legislation proposed to reform these provisions for years but nothing has passed yet.

THIS IS WHY IM WAITING TILL 70 TO CLAIM!!! All these complicated rules and reductions! The system is designed to confuse us and give us less money!!!

Thank you everyone for all the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing my husband's income won't affect my benefits. I'm a bit disappointed about the spousal benefit reduction, but it makes sense. I'll definitely try to get an exact calculation from SSA about what my top-up might be when my husband reaches FRA. Thanks again!

One more thing to consider - if you're taking care of any children or dependents with disabilities that your late husband was supporting (even if not biological children), there might be benefits available to them. Also, while the 9-month marriage rule is generally strict, there are occasionally unique circumstances where SSA can make exceptions. For anyone dealing with a similar situation, it's worth filing an application even if you think you'll be denied, because: 1. The application establishes your protective filing date 2. You get a formal, appealable decision 3. Sometimes unusual circumstances do result in exceptions In your specific case, since you mentioned you're 58 now, the most viable path would likely be examining benefits based on your 10+ year first marriage when you reach age 62, while comparing that amount to what you'd receive on your own record.

wait i'm confused...if you were with him for 16 years why did you only get married 6 months before he died? not judging just wondering if there was a reason because that timing seems important