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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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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.
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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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Thank you all for the helpful responses! I'm going to try contacting SSA to get an exact calculation of what I might receive after the GPO reduction. Even if it's only a few hundred dollars, that's still meaningful over time. I'll gather all my documents (marriage certificate, death certificate, pension statements, etc.) and try to schedule an appointment. If I can't get through on the phone, I'll check out that Claimyr service someone mentioned. One last question: If I do qualify for some small survivor benefit, can I receive that AND still potentially claim my own Social Security later (from those 12 years I worked in the private sector)? Or do I have to choose one or the other?
Yes, you can claim survivor benefits now and switch to your own retirement benefit later if it would be higher (or vice versa). This is one of the few remaining claiming strategies after the 2015 law changes. Just be aware that your own benefit would likely be reduced by WEP due to your teacher pension. Ask the SSA representative to calculate both scenarios for you.
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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.
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To follow up on your retroactivity question - the GPO repeal was effective December 2023, so if you apply now, you can request retroactive benefits back to December 2023, but SSA generally limits retroactivity to 6 months for survivor benefits. So realistically, you'd likely only get retroactive payments for about 6 months, not all the way back to December 2023 unless you applied very soon. Also, when you go to your appointment, make sure you bring: 1. Your husband's death certificate 2. Your marriage certificate 3. Both your Social Security cards 4. The previous denial letter that mentions GPO 5. Documentation of your pension This will help ensure your claim is processed correctly. And as others have mentioned, be prepared to be persistent. The GPO repeal is still relatively new, and not all SSA representatives are fully trained on handling these cases.
Thank you for this detailed list! I do have all those documents ready. I'm going to try to get an appointment ASAP to maximize any retroactive benefits. It's frustrating that they limit it to 6 months when the repeal has been in effect longer than that, but at least it's something.
Yes, I did finally get my benefits sorted out but it took using Claimyr to finally reach someone who knew what they were doing. Got a specialist who handles WEP/GPO cases and she fixed everything. Worth every penny to avoid the hours of frustration! And FYI for your calculation - the 2022 COLA was 5.9%, 2023 was 8.7% and 2024 was 3.2%. So if your starting benefit is $2,005 (the 82.5% amount), after all those COLAs it would be around $2,322 now. Much better than what your husband was getting when he passed!
I had same experience! Regular agents dont know how to handle GPO repeal cases but the specialists do. Make sure u ask for a "Technical Expert" when u call - they know more than regular claims reps
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my aunt got divorced after 11 years and she gets benefits from my uncles record even tho they HATE each other lol. social security doesnt care about your feelings just the years!! but she had to wait until he retired before she could claim anything
That's only partially correct. If you've been divorced for at least 2 years, you can claim benefits on your ex's record even if they haven't applied for benefits yet, as long as you're both eligible for benefits (generally age 62+). The requirement that your ex needs to have filed only applies if the divorce was less than 2 years ago.
One additional consideration about your business situation: If you're both taking salaries from the business, ensure you're maximizing your own Social Security contributions. Many business owners make the mistake of minimizing payroll taxes, but this can significantly reduce your future Social Security benefits. Since you mention your benefit is much lower than his, you might want to restructure your compensation to increase your reported earnings (up to the SS wage base of $168,600 for 2025) for your remaining working years. This could potentially increase your own retirement benefit, which might be valuable regardless of what happens with your marital status.
That's brilliant advice I hadn't considered! We've been doing exactly what you described - minimizing payroll and taking more as distributions to reduce taxes. But you're right that this hurts my SS record. I'll talk to our accountant about restructuring my compensation to maximize SS contributions for these last few years before retirement. Thank you!
AstroAdventurer
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
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Natasha Kuznetsova
•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).
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Oliver Schulz
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?
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Ravi Gupta
•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.
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