wait i dont get it…if ur already on SSDI does that mean ur already getting ur full amount? why would they reduce ANYTHING?? makes no sense….

One more important point - if your disability benefit is $1,100 and 50% of your ex's PIA is $1,200, then at FRA you would receive your $1,100 disability (which converts to retirement) PLUS an additional $100 as the excess spousal amount. So waiting until FRA in your case would mean an extra $100/month for life, plus any COLAs applied to that amount. Just something to keep in mind as you're making your decision.

Is anyone else confused by how Social Security calculates EVERYTHING? I swear it's like they purposely make it complicated so we don't understand what we're entitled to. My sister and I both went on disability around the same time with similar work histories and her payment is almost $300 more than mine every month!!! When I asked SSA why they just gave me some mumbo jumbo about "computation years" and "indexed earnings" that made zero sense.

Regarding the part-time work your brother-in-law did while on disability - that $10,000 might actually make a difference. Disability benefits are calculated using a "freeze period" that excludes years of low/no earnings due to disability. When converting to retirement, sometimes additional earnings during the disability period can be included in the calculation. I recommend he create an account at my.ssa.gov (if he hasn't already) where he can view his earnings history and benefit verification. Then, about 3 months before reaching FRA, he should contact SSA specifically requesting a recalculation that includes those earnings during his disability period. He should be prepared with documentation of those earnings just in case.

After struggling with similar SSA phone issues, I finally found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in under 10 minutes! It basically navigates the SSA phone system for you and calls you back when it reaches an agent. Saved me hours of frustration when I needed answers about my application status. There's a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - definitely worth checking out if you're desperate to speak with someone about your case. Getting answers directly from SSA is critical with these GPO implementation questions.

UPDATE: My mom finally got through to someone and they told her the GPO repeal benefits start paying out in JULY 2025! So even though the law passed, they're still denying applications until then. Did anyone else hear this???

my neighbor worked for the post office and had the same question when she got promoted. she said her benefit estimate went up about $200/month after her higher salary was recorded but it took almost a year to show up in the system. might be different for you tho.

One more thing to consider: If you're within a few years of retirement, you might want to check whether your 2024 earnings will replace one of your 35 highest years. If you've consistently earned a good income throughout your career, a single year's increase may have less impact than if you have some lower-earning or zero years in your calculation. You can see your year-by-year earnings history in your my Social Security account to get a better idea of how significant this increase might be to your overall calculation.

My friend tried to do this but found out her ex had barely worked under social security because he was a teacher with a pension. She ended up getting almost nothing from his record. Do you know if your ex worked consistently under Social Security?

One final tip - when you do file, make sure to specifically tell SSA you want to file for divorced spouse benefits. Sometimes they don't check automatically even though they should. Bring your marriage certificate and divorce decree to your appointment. You might also need his Social Security number, but if you don't have it, SSA can usually find it with his name and date of birth.