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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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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!
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Another important consideration: If either of your potential spouses is receiving any needs-based benefits like SSI or Medicaid, marriage could affect those benefits since household income is considered. Also, be aware that marriage might impact other financial arrangements like pensions with survivor benefits that may already name other beneficiaries. At 84, I would strongly recommend making an appointment with SSA to discuss your specific situation rather than making decisions based solely on general forum advice. Your earnings record, exact benefit amount, and other factors will determine the exact financial impact.
You're absolutely right. I'll schedule an appointment with SSA to get advice specific to my situation. There are clearly more factors to consider than I initially realized. Thank you all for your helpful input!
MY NEIGHBOR JUST DID THIS!!!! She married her friend and got his benefits when he died but she had to fight with SSA for MONTHS because they said it was a "marriage of convenience" or something like that. They investigated her!!! Be careful what you say to them about why you're getting married!!
This is important to clarify. SSA doesn't technically have a "marriage of convenience" policy that would disqualify someone from benefits. If the marriage is legal, it generally counts for Social Security purposes regardless of the reasons for marrying. The 9-month duration requirement for survivor benefits is primarily what they'll check. However, if fraud is suspected (marriage solely for benefits with no intent to live as spouses), that could potentially be investigated, though it's relatively rare in cases like this.
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One more thing you should know: The fact that you didn't file earlier may actually work in your favor regarding retroactivity. Since you never received a formal denial, you could potentially argue that misinformation from an SSA employee prevented you from filing. This is called \
This is incredibly helpful information I had no idea about. I'll definitely bring up the misinformation form and ask about establishing a protective filing date from my 2020 visit. I remember it was in March 2020, right before the pandemic shut everything down. I imagine that might have contributed to the rushed service. Thank you so much for this suggestion!
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make sure u have all ur documents!!! birth certificate, marriage license, divorce papers, death certificate for ex, etc. i forgot my divorce decree and had to reschedule my whole appointment and wait another 6 weeks!!
Oh that's a great reminder! I'll definitely make a checklist of all the documents I need to bring. Did they require original documents or were copies acceptable?
they wanted originals of everything! and u might need proof u were married 10+ years for ex-spouse benefits. bring as much as u can
One other important thing to know - when you're receiving survivor benefits from 67-70, you can still work without any earnings limit penalties. The earnings test doesn't apply after you reach your full retirement age. So if you want to work part-time during those years, your survivor benefits won't be reduced no matter how much you earn.
That's really good to know! I was planning to do some consulting work in retirement, so it's nice to hear I won't be penalized for that income while on survivor benefits.
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Quick clarification on your question about your husband's early retirement affecting your survivor benefits: Since your husband claimed at 62 and passed at 65 (before his FRA), your maximum survivor benefit would be the higher of: 1. The benefit he was receiving when he died (reduced for his early claiming) 2. 82.5% of his Primary Insurance Amount (what he would've gotten at his FRA) However, this maximum amount will then be reduced by the GPO (2/3 of your government pension). And if you claim before your survivor FRA (66 and 10 months), it would be further reduced for early claiming. The claiming strategy gets quite complex with GPO involved. If your government pension is substantial, it might wipe out most or all of your survivor benefit regardless of when you claim.
This is starting to make sense now. So even though my husband claimed early, I might still be entitled to 82.5% of what he would have received at his FRA rather than his reduced benefit. But then the GPO reduction happens after that calculation. I think this explains why one rep told me I'd only get about 1/3 of his benefit after all the reductions. I need to find out exactly what my monthly pension will be to calculate the GPO impact accurately.
have u checked if there was a lump sum death benefit? its only $255 but its something. also did u get the check for the month he died? my FIL died on the 29th and they took back his last payment because they said he wasnt alive the whole month which seemed really unfair
Yes, I did receive the $255 death benefit already. And you're right about them taking back the last month's payment - they explained that Social Security benefits are paid in arrears (for the previous month), so if the person doesn't live through the entire month, they take it back. It doesn't seem fair but apparently that's the rule.
Sofia Torres
Quick question piggy-backing on this thread - does anyone know if Roth IRA withdrawals are treated the same? We're considering pulling from our Roth for a kitchen renovation next year.
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Giovanni Colombo
•Yes, Roth IRA withdrawals are treated the same by Social Security - they don't count as earned income for the earnings test. The tax treatment is different (Roth withdrawals are generally tax-free if qualified), but from SSA's perspective, they're not considered earned income that would trigger benefit reductions under the earnings test.
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Amara Okafor
btw when u actually apply for SS make sure to check ur estimated benefit on the mySocialSecurity website bc sometimes they mess up the calculations.
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Liam Sullivan
•Thanks for the tip! I've been checking mine regularly. It's actually gone up a bit in the last few years since I've been earning more at my current job.
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