Can't reach Social Security Administration? Claimyr connects you to a live SSA agent in minutes.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the SSA
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the SSA drops your call
If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
Really made a difference
Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
Join the conversation
Join the conversation
my mom got confused about this too ended up leaving like $20k on the table over the yrs cause nobody explaind it right
OK, now I think I understand all this correctly. To summarize: 1. I'll get my own benefit ($1,400) plus a top-off to reach half of my husband's FRA benefit ($1,600 total). 2. The $1,911 figure is irrelevant to my situation. 3. My husband must file for his benefits before I can claim any spousal benefits. 4. If I claim before my FRA, both parts of my benefit get reduced. 5. The spousal benefit is based on my husband's FRA amount, not his actual payment if he delays. Did I get all this right? I feel so much more prepared for my SSA appointment now!
You've got it exactly right! Print out this summary and take it to your appointment. One last tip: when you do apply, specifically mention that you're applying for "all benefits you're eligible for" including retirement and spousal benefits. Sometimes if you don't explicitly mention both, they might not process the spousal portion right away, which can delay your full payment.
Join the conversation
have u checked ur my social security acct online? sometimes it shows pending payments there before they even tell u. might give u a clue if somethings gonna hit in january
Good idea! I just checked but it still shows as suspended. Maybe it'll update closer to January? I'll keep an eye on it.
To summarize what should happen in your case: 1. Benefits should automatically resume in January 2025 2. No action needed from you if SSA has your correct 2025 earnings estimate 3. First payment should arrive based on your birth date schedule in January 4. You'll receive your full monthly benefit amount since your 2025 earnings are well below the limit If January comes and you don't receive payment, then you should contact SSA immediately to ensure they have the correct earnings information for 2025. For peace of mind, you could call once more in December to verify everything is set up correctly for January payment resumption.
Thank you so much for this clear summary! I think I'll call in December just to make sure everything is on track. It's reassuring to know the system should automatically restart payments in January as long as they have my correct 2025 earnings estimate.
Join the conversation
ANYONE else notice how IMPOSSIBLE it is to get correct information from SSA these days?!?! I swear every rep tells you something different! My neighbor filed last year and got told THREE different things about how her pension would affect her SS benefit! The whole system is a mess!!
The WEP and GPO rules regarding pensions are exceptionally complicated, so I'm not surprised your neighbor got inconsistent information. Those provisions (Windfall Elimination Provision and Government Pension Offset) have very complex calculations that many SSA representatives struggle with. Always best to get information in writing or speak with a technical expert at SSA for those situations.
to answer that other persons question YES u can wait to take survivor benefits even if already getting ur own. my sister was getting her own SS when her husband died last year and the SS person told her she could wait til her FRA to switch to survivors to get the full amount. shes 63 now and waiting til 67 to switch
That's correct. This is one of the few remaining planning opportunities after the 2015 law changes. You can choose when to take survivor benefits independent of your retirement benefits. So in the original poster's case, she could take reduced retirement benefits now, and if her husband passed away, she could either: 1. Switch to survivor benefits immediately (at a reduction if before FRA) 2. Wait until FRA to switch to full survivor benefits The best choice depends on the benefit amounts and her financial needs at that time.
Join the conversation
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!!!
While I understand your frustration, there are some provisions that help in situations like yours. If you were married 10+ years, you can claim spousal benefits on your ex's record (up to 50% of their benefit) if that would be higher than your own benefit, even if you're divorced. This specifically helps people who had lower earnings due to family caregiving. You can contact SSA to see if you might qualify for a higher benefit amount through this provision.
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.
You're right - that's what I'll need to do. I've got a good job now and have been contributing to my 401k, so I'll just keep focusing on that. It was worth asking though!
ShadowHunter
One more important consideration: Remember that Social Security benefits are calculated based on your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. If you don't have 35 years of SS-covered employment, the formula fills in zeros for the missing years. If you work 3 more years in SS-covered employment at $69,000, you'd be replacing 3 zeros (or very low earning years) in your calculation. That's why you're seeing such a significant jump in your estimated benefit (from $713 to $1,001). Have you requested your Social Security earnings record? That would show exactly which years would be replaced and might help with your decision. You can view this online if you have a mySocialSecurity account.
0 coins
Freya Larsen
•I do have a mySocialSecurity account but haven't looked at my detailed earnings record recently. I'll definitely check which years would be replaced by the potential new earnings. I'm pretty sure I have several zeros in my calculation since I spent over 20 years in non-SS teaching positions.
0 coins
Anastasia Sokolov
You're overthinking this way too much. If you don't need the money, do what makes you HAPPY. Period. End of story. No more analysis needed!
0 coins
Freya Larsen
•When you put it that way, it sounds so simple! I'm definitely prone to overanalyzing. Maybe I need to step back and ask myself what I truly want from the next few years rather than just looking at the numbers.
0 coins