The WHOLE system is designed to make us fail!!! I filed for my own retirement at 62 and got a PATHETIC amount because I took time off to raise kids. Meanwhile my ex will get FULL benefits even though I supported HIM through graduate school!! The system is COMPLETELY unfair to women, especially those of us who divorced before our spouses hit their peak earning years!!!

My neighbor was in kinda the same boat and she ended up just focusing on building her own retirement instead. Probably better in the long run anyway.

Don't forget that overseas earnings might count toward US Social Security under certain totalization agreements. I think Australia has one with the US. You should check if some of those foreign years might actually count toward your US benefit.

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses! This has been really educational. So it sounds like my statement estimate already factors in my zero years, which is a relief. And with WEP repealed, I won't see a reduction based on my Australian pension. Each year I work now basically replaces a zero year in my calculation, which should boost my benefit. I'll try to get through to SSA to confirm all this (maybe using that Claimyr service if I can't get through the normal channels). Really appreciate all your insights!

One other thing to consider - will your current spouse's benefit be higher than what you'd get from your ex's record? If so, you might want to just stick with that when you reach full retirement age. SSA won't necessarily tell you which option is better financially, so you need to ask specific questions about potential amounts. I almost missed out on thousands by not comparing my options!

One more important note: survivors benefits can be claimed as early as age 60 (unlike retirement benefits which start at 62), but taking them early will permanently reduce the monthly amount. At 62, you'd receive about 81.2% of what you'd get at your full retirement age. Sometimes it makes financial sense to claim survivor benefits early and then switch to your own retirement benefit later (or vice versa). This strategy can maximize your lifetime benefits.

Don't wait!!! My sister-in-law was in your EXACT situation (teacher for 29 years, GPO affected) and she listened when they told her to "just wait" - BIG MISTAKE! She ended up waiting THREE EXTRA MONTHS for her first payment because of the direct deposit issue! Go to your local office IN PERSON with your ID, a voided check, and your case number. Insist they document in your file that you provided direct deposit info. The website is RIGHT and the phone rep was WRONG. With this GPO repeal affecting so many people, SSA is overwhelmed and giving out incorrect information.

I know this isn't exactly what you asked, but make sure you understand how the GPO repeal implementation timeline works. SSA announced they'll process cases in phases, with the first payments expected to go out in late January 2025. Those who already applied (like you) are in the first group. But they also said benefits won't be retroactive to the repeal date - they'll start when SSA processes your case. So getting your direct deposit set up is definitely important to avoid further delays once they get to your case!

just wondering, how much would your own benefit be at 67? is it close to the survivor benefit or way less?

Since you mentioned specific numbers in your reply to another comment ($1,850 for your benefit at FRA vs $2,100 survivor benefit), let me add some helpful math: By delaying your retirement benefit from 67 to 70, you'd get an additional 8% per year for 3 years (24% total increase). That would potentially make your own benefit around $2,294 at age 70 ($1,850 × 1.24), which would exceed your current survivor benefit. This is exactly the type of situation where the switching strategy could benefit you. You could continue receiving the survivor benefit until 70, then switch to your own (higher) retirement benefit for the rest of your life. Definitely worth discussing with an SSA representative to get exact figures based on your earnings record.