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.

My husband was in this EXACT situation!!! His bday is in March but he waited till June to file (FRA) because we heard horror stories about the SSA messing up people's payment amounts when they file right at their birthday month! So we waited a few extra months just to be safe. Dunno if thats really necessary but we didnt want any mistakes!!!!

One other thing to consider - since your husband is still working at a good salary, his Social Security benefit amount might actually increase slightly if his current earnings are higher than some earlier years in his earnings record. SSA uses the highest 35 years of indexed earnings to calculate benefits. This is especially true if he had any years with low earnings or gaps in his work history. Each additional high-earning year can bump out a lower year in the calculation. So waiting those extra months could potentially increase his benefit by more than just avoiding the early filing reduction.

Have you looked into your state's emergency assistance programs? Some states have emergency funds for people waiting on SSDI decisions. Also check with your county's Department of Social Services - they might have emergency housing assistance to help with your mortgage payment. Don't be too proud to apply for SNAP benefits (food stamps) too - that's what these programs are for!

One more important thing to consider: If you take early retirement at 63, your benefit is reduced by about 20-25% permanently. However, if your SSDI is approved later, you'll receive the full disability benefit (which equals your FRA benefit amount with no reduction). The difference between these amounts over years could be significant. For context: If your FRA benefit would be $2,000/month, early retirement at 63 might give you around $1,500/month permanently. But SSDI would give you the full $2,000/month, plus back pay for the waiting period. That's a $500/month difference for the rest of your life. Have you checked your estimated benefit amount on your my Social Security account at ssa.gov? That would give you a better idea of what you're looking at financially.

You're right - widow(er) benefits are reduced if claimed before Full Retirement Age. At age 61, the reduction is approximately 28.5% from the full 100% survivor benefit. The exact reduction percentage depends on birth year and exact age when claiming.

I want to thank everyone for all this helpful information. I'm going to call SSA tomorrow to schedule an appointment to discuss advance planning. It's a relief to understand what to expect, even though it's hard to think about. I'll make sure to keep all the necessary documentation organized and ready. I appreciate the tip about Claimyr too - sounds like it might save a lot of frustration when the time comes to make these changes.