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
wat about if u work part time after retiring? My neighbor works 2 days a week at walmart and still gets ss but shes over 67 i think
That's a different situation. Once you reach your Full Retirement Age (currently 67 for people born in 1960 or later), there's NO earnings limit. You can work and earn as much as you want without any reduction in benefits. The earnings test only applies to people who claim before their FRA. The original poster is claiming about a year before FRA, so they need to stay under the annual limit (about $21,240 for 2025).
I just called my HR department and they actually weren't sure how this would be reported! They're checking with payroll. This is making me really nervous now. Should I just delay my SS application by a month to avoid this issue completely?
Delaying by a month would certainly eliminate this particular issue, though it would mean one less month of benefits. Another option is to proceed with your application but include a detailed explanation letter with your supporting documentation regarding the final paycheck. Either approach is valid - it depends on your risk tolerance versus your immediate need for benefits. If you don't urgently need that first month's payment, delaying might save you potential headaches.
Join the conversation
Update: I FINALLY got through to someone at SSA after trying for days. The agent explained that I misunderstood how the monthly earnings test works. She said that in the first year of retirement, they look at any month where I earned under the limit AND didn't perform "substantial services" as a month I should receive benefits, regardless of my annual total. But here's the catch - they're saying my part-time work still counts as "substantial services" even though I'm earning under the monthly limit! Apparently because I'm working more than 15 hours weekly at the bookstore (I work about 22 hours), they're considering it substantial work. This feels like a complete gotcha - stay under the earnings limit but still get penalized because of hours? I'm going to request a formal review. This just doesn't seem right.
The "substantial services" rule primarily applies to self-employment, not wage employment. For regular employment, they should only be looking at your earnings, not your hours. It sounds like the representative may have confused the two tests or incorrectly applied self-employment rules to your wage employment situation. Definitely request a formal review and bring documentation showing: 1. When you reduced your work from full-time to part-time 2. Your monthly earnings after starting benefits 3. That you're a wage earner, not self-employed The "substantial services" hour limit should not apply to your bookstore job if you're a regular employee (W-2, not 1099).
Reading through all this, I'm seriously considering just waiting until I hit my FRA to avoid this mess altogether. The rules are way more complicated than they initially appear, and it sounds like even the SSA reps give conflicting information. Losing a few months of benefits might be worth avoiding the headache!
That's often the simplest solution if you're close to your FRA and still working. Once you reach FRA, you can earn unlimited amounts without any reduction to your benefits. If you're only a few months away, it might be worth waiting just for the peace of mind.
Join the conversation
my uncle worked for govt and when he died my aunt got like half his pension. she said the paperwork was a mess though. good luck
One thing nobody mentioned - if you're planning to work while collecting survivor benefits, be aware of the earnings limit! In 2025 if you earn over $24,000 (I think that's the new amount), they'll deduct $1 from benefits for every $2 you earn above that limit. The limit goes away when you reach full retirement age though.
That's really good to know! I do work part-time and was planning to continue. Does that earnings limit apply to all types of income or just wages from a job?
The earnings limit only applies to wages from employment or net earnings from self-employment. It doesn't count investment income, interest, pensions, annuities, capital gains, or other government benefits. Also, if your benefits are reduced because of the earnings limit, you'll get credit for those months when you reach full retirement age, resulting in a higher benefit amount later.
Join the conversation
Just curious - did you or your wife pay into Social Security? If your wife didn't have enough work credits that could be another issue. For survivor benefits the deceased needs 40 credits (10 years work) OR if they died young sometimes fewer credits. But SOMEONE needs to have paid in for benefits to be available.
Yes, my wife worked full-time for over 20 years and had more than enough credits. She was 58 when she passed away and had been contributing to Social Security her entire working life.
Based on everything you've shared, I believe you have a case worth pursuing. The fact that: 1. You both had legal custody before your wife passed 2. You were actively in the adoption process 3. You were providing support and care for the child 4. Your wife had sufficient work credits All point to a potential approval with proper representation. I'd suggest: 1. Contact the National Organization of Social Security Claimants' Representatives (NOSSCR) to find a qualified attorney 2. Gather ALL documentation showing the timeline of custody, adoption process, and your wife's involvement 3. Request a formal reconsideration rather than just calling again 4. Reference your previous inquiry to maintain the retroactive date I've seen cases like yours succeed, but they typically require persistence and proper legal representation.
Thank you so much for this detailed action plan. I hadn't heard of NOSSCR before, but I'll definitely contact them to find a qualified attorney. I feel more confident now about pursuing this with the right approach and representation.
Carmen Lopez
One additional point that hasn't been mentioned yet: Your wife's decision to claim at 62 will permanently reduce her own benefit by about 30% compared to her FRA amount. This won't affect your potential spousal benefit on her record (since you're waiting until your FRA), but it will reduce her monthly income for the rest of her life. If she can afford to wait even a year or two beyond 62, she could significantly increase her lifetime benefits. Each year she delays between 62 and her FRA adds about 6-8% to her monthly benefit amount.
0 coins
Yuki Ito
•That's a good point I hadn't considered fully. We assumed she should just take it early since her benefit is lower anyway, but maybe we should reconsider if she waits at least until 63 or 64. I'll talk with her about this and run some calculations on the total impact.
0 coins
Zoe Papanikolaou
When I was trying to figure all this out last year I actually downloaded the 2025 SSA calculator from their website and put in all our numbers. It was super helpful to see the actual dollar amounts we'd get under different scenarios! Highly recommend doing that.
0 coins