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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!
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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!
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i thought the earnings limit was $18,240? thats what my friend told me when i was thinking about applying early
The $18,240 figure was from 2023. For 2024, it's $22,320 for those under FRA all year. This is why it's important to check the current year's limits as they change annually with cost-of-living adjustments.
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my sister said u can get retro payment up to 6 months when u file, so if u wait to file til 67.5 u still get paid from 67. not sure if that helps your plan??
This is incorrect. Retroactive benefits only apply if you're past FRA, and they can go back a maximum of 6 months, not earlier than FRA. But importantly, taking retroactive benefits means accepting the lower benefit amount as if you had filed earlier. It's not free money - it reduces your ongoing benefit permanently.
One more point to consider: Once you start collecting your benefit, your wife can file for her spousal benefit, but she'll face a reduction for claiming before her own FRA. At 62, her spousal benefit would be reduced to about 35% of your PIA instead of the full 50% she'd get at her FRA. If you're doing calculations, make sure to account for this reduction since she's under full retirement age. The exact percentage depends on how many months before her FRA she files.
I hadn't factored that in - thanks for pointing it out. Her FRA is 67, so that would be a significant reduction if she starts at 62. We have some savings that could potentially bridge the gap if it makes more financial sense for both of us to wait until our respective FRAs. Lots to think about!
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btw the 10 year marriage thing DOES matter for spousal benefits too not just divorce! make sure you mention that when you call
This is incorrect. The 10-year duration requirement only applies to divorced spouse benefits. For currently married couples, you only need to be married for 1 year before applying for spousal benefits. The original poster's 12-year marriage more than satisfies this requirement.
To add to the excellent advice already provided: Once your wife applies for the spousal top-up, the SSA will calculate what's called the "excess spousal benefit." This is the difference between 50% of your PIA and your wife's PIA (not her reduced benefit amount). Since you mentioned your wife started claiming at 70, that's past her FRA, so she won't face any reduction in the spousal amount. However, the WEP elimination adjustment creates an interesting timing question. My suggestion: Have your wife contact SSA now to establish her intent to file for spousal benefits. This can protect her retroactive date while waiting for WEP adjustments to be fully processed. The SSA can set a protective filing date even if you haven't applied for your own benefits yet.
Thank you - I didn't know we could establish a protective filing date for her spousal benefits before I even apply for my own benefits. That's extremely helpful! We'll definitely do that right away.
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i tried that claimyr thing someone mentioned when i had a survivors benefits question last month and it actually worked. got through to ssa in like 20 mins instead of being on hold for hours. just saying it might save u a lot of time
how much does it cost tho?
Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I'm going to try calling using that Claimyr service tomorrow morning, and if that doesn't work I'll write everything on paper and send it certified mail. I'll make sure to include all my info - SSN, contact details, my expected earnings, and a clear explanation. I'll update if I run into any more issues. Really appreciate all the help!
That sounds like a solid plan. Remember to keep a copy of whatever you send for your records. Good luck!
CosmicCowboy
To give you some concrete numbers about WEP, with 23 years of substantial earnings, your WEP reduction won't be the full amount. The maximum WEP reduction for someone reaching 62 in 2025 is about $613 per month, but with 23 years of substantial earnings, your reduction would be significantly less - about 70% of that maximum. Delaying until 70 still increases your WEP-reduced benefit by 8% per year beyond FRA. Since GPO is likely eliminating most or all of your spousal benefit anyway, focusing on maximizing your own benefit might be your best strategy. Consider requesting a detailed benefit calculation from SSA that shows your WEP-adjusted amounts at different claiming ages. This will give you the specific numbers to make your decision.
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Paolo Longo
•Thank you for these specific numbers! This is exactly what I needed. I had no idea the WEP reduction would be less with 23 years of substantial earnings. I'm going to request that detailed calculation as you suggested. This makes me feel much better about my options.
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Amina Diallo
i think everybody born after 1954 got screwed by that law change!! my brother in law was born in december 1953 and got to do the restricted thing but my sister missed it by 3 months. not fair!!
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Natasha Orlova
•EXACTLY!!! The whole system is rigged against us. My cousin got to do this because she was born in 1952 and saved like $40,000 by using that strategy. Then they pull the rug out from under the rest of us. And now we're stuck with all these complicated WEP/GPO penalties too!!!
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