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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!
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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!
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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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I started receiving my deceased husband's benefits right after he died but i was already 68 so no issues with working. The whole process took about 45 days from application to first deposit. Make sure u have certified copies of everything they ask for.
One more important point - you mentioned your HR department is pressuring you about retirement plans. Just to be clear, collecting Social Security survivor benefits doesn't require you to retire from your job. You can work indefinitely while collecting survivor benefits once you reach your FRA of 66 and 8 months. Also, when you apply, make sure SSA compares your own benefit amount to your wife's. They should pay you the higher of the two. And if you delay your own retirement benefit until 70 while collecting survivors now, be aware that you'll need to proactively apply for your retirement benefit when you reach 70 - the switch isn't automatic.
This is really helpful, thank you. I'm going to make an appointment with HR to clarify that I plan to continue working even after I start collecting survivor benefits. And I'll definitely mark my calendar to apply for my own benefits at 70 if that ends up being the better option.
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Definitely try to get that 20th year if you can! And remember that WEP only applies to the retirement benefit based on your own record. If you're eligible for spousal benefits or survivor benefits based on someone else's record, those aren't affected by WEP (though they might be affected by GPO - Government Pension Offset - which is different).
i thought SS retirement estimates already factor in WEP???? mine does i think, it says something about 'modified formula used' on my statement
@casual_commenter - No, the Social Security Statement estimates do NOT automatically factor in WEP. The statement explicitly says this in the fine print. The only way to get an accurate WEP calculation is to contact SSA directly. Online estimates don't have access to information about non-covered pensions, which is necessary to calculate WEP.
I just checked my statement again and you're right - there's a note that says the estimate doesn't account for WEP or GPO. I completely missed that before. I'll definitely work to get that 20th year of substantial earnings and then try to get an accurate calculation. Thank you all for the helpful information!
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In my experience, yes, it worked great. I was skeptical too but was desperate after trying for days to reach someone. Got connected in about 15 minutes when I'd been unable to get through at all on my own.
Thanks everyone for the helpful advice! I've decided to go ahead with my phone interview as scheduled rather than postponing it. I'll make sure to mention the WEP situation during the call so it's documented, but won't expect them to process that adjustment manually. I'm a bit nervous about the overall confusion at SSA with all the WEP adjustments happening, but it sounds like delaying would just put me further back in line for the divorced spousal benefit without actually helping the WEP situation. I'll update after my February appointment if anything interesting comes up!
That's definitely the right approach. One final tip: During your phone interview, request an email confirmation of what was discussed and what next steps are expected. This creates a paper trail that can be valuable if there are any issues later. Good luck!
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My neighbor said her daughter had to call the SS office like 20 times before they even looked at her application last month. Something about them being super understaffed right now???
Ally Tailer
After thinking about your situation more, one more important factor: the 4% rule for retirement withdrawals suggests you can safely withdraw about 4% of your nest egg annually. If your SS payment would be $1,200/month higher by waiting ($14,400/year), that's equivalent to having an additional $360,000 in retirement savings ($14,400 ÷ 0.04). This perspective often helps people see the true value of delayed Social Security benefits. If you had an extra $360K in your retirement account, would you be more comfortable?
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Landon Flounder
•Wow, I hadn't thought about it that way! Putting it in terms of equivalent retirement savings makes the delayed credits seem much more valuable. When you frame it as essentially having $360K more in my retirement account, waiting to 70 sounds like a no-brainer given my family history.
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Callum Savage
everyone keeps talking bout the MATH but what about ENJOYING LIFE?? my brother waited to 70 and then got cancer at 71... all that waiting for nothin. just my 2 cents
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Landon Flounder
•I'm very sorry about your brother. That's definitely the fear I have too - waiting and then not getting to enjoy it for very long. It's the uncertainty that makes this such a tough decision.
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Miranda Singer
•This is a valid perspective that highlights the personal nature of this decision. The mathematical optimization approach assumes longevity, but life has no guarantees. Each person needs to balance the statistical likelihood of living longer (especially with family history of longevity) against the desire to enjoy benefits earlier.
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