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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!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
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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After reading all these comments, it sounds like you'd really benefit from getting a personalized analysis of your situation from SSA directly. When I finally got through to them after using Claimyr, the agent ran several different claiming scenarios specifically for our financial situation. They showed us the lifetime benefit totals under different life expectancy assumptions. For a decision this important affecting potentially hundreds of thousands in lifetime benefits, it's worth getting expert advice tailored to your specific circumstances rather than general opinions.
Dylan Baskin
•Oh please. SSA agents just read from scripts and don't give personalized financial advice. I went to my local office and was basically told to read the website. Total waste of time. 🙄
did u check what ur spousal benefit would be when u retire?? my friend got more from her husbands record than her own even tho she worked 30 years
Lauren Wood
•This is another excellent consideration. If your own benefit at FRA would be less than 50% of your husband's FRA benefit, you could receive a spousal boost when you claim. However, if he claims early, it doesn't reduce your potential spousal benefit because that's based on his FRA amount, not his actual benefit amount. Survivor benefits, however, ARE affected by early claiming.
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Amina Bah
For the indexing thing - just know that they only use your highest 35 years of earnings when figuring ur benefit. If u worked 42 yrs like u said, they'll throw out ur 7 lowest-earning years. Also they adjust all those earnings to current dollars befor calculating. its complicated!!!
Thanks, that's helpful to know. I had a few years early in my career with very low earnings, so I'm glad those won't drag down my benefit amount.
Emma Davis
I had a similar situation with the tax withholding issue. I'd recommend selecting the 12% option on the W-4V unless you have significant other income. The 7% is rarely enough to cover the tax liability for most retirees with pension or investment income. After you submit the form, you can check your mySocialSecurity account about 30-45 days later to verify the new withholding amount is being applied correctly. Regarding the indexing factors, it's also worth knowing that earnings after age 60 aren't indexed (they're counted at face value), which can make understanding the formula a bit confusing.
That's really good information about the 12% - I was planning to just choose 10% but maybe I should go higher. I do have some investment income and a small pension. And I didn't know about the age 60 cutoff for indexing - thank you!
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Ev Luca
NONE of you are mentioning the MASSIVE changes coming to Social Security!!!! The trust fund is going to be DEPLETED by 2034 and then what????? Taking it early might be the ONLY way to get anything before they change all the rules and CUT BENEFITS for everyone!!! Wake UP people!!!!
Avery Davis
•I understand the concern, but it's important to clarify that even if the trust fund is depleted, Social Security would still pay about 78-80% of promised benefits from ongoing payroll taxes. Congress has always acted before major benefit cuts occurred in the past, and there are many reform proposals being discussed. While the system certainly faces challenges, making claiming decisions based on fear of complete program collapse is generally not recommended by financial planning experts.
@original poster - did you ever get this resolved? I'm curious what you decided to do since I'm facing a similar decision next year. My financial advisor actually suggested the same strategy you're considering.
Yes! After weighing everyone's input and meeting with my financial advisor, I decided to go ahead with taking benefits at 62. The key factors in my decision were: 1) the relatively small difference between early and FRA benefits in my specific case, 2) learning that survivor benefits wouldn't be affected if my husband waits until his FRA, and 3) realizing I'd still get a partial spousal bump when my husband files even though I took my own benefits early. I'll be filing next month when I turn 62! Fingers crossed it works out.
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Something else to consider: if you have any periods of employment where you DID pay into Social Security (outside of your non-covered pension job), you might qualify for your own Social Security benefit. If that's the case, you wouldn't be subject to GPO on those benefits - only on the spousal/survivor benefits. This could potentially increase your total retirement income. Do you have any work history outside of your pension-covered employment?
Yes! I worked part-time at a private clinic for about 8 years after leaving my county job. I paid into Social Security during that time. I didn't think it would amount to much since it wasn't full-time work. Would that really make a difference?
That could absolutely make a difference! Those 8 years of covered employment would contribute to your own Social Security benefit, which would not be reduced by GPO (though it might be affected by WEP, but differently). In fact, if your own benefit is higher than your reduced spousal benefit, you'd receive your own instead. When your husband passes, you'd then get the higher of: your own benefit OR your reduced survivor benefit. Having multiple income sources can significantly improve your financial situation. I strongly suggest getting a Social Security benefits analysis to see exactly how these calculations would work in your specific case.
This is extremely helpful information. I had no idea my part-time work could make such a difference. I think I'll definitely need to speak with someone at SSA to get the exact calculations. I feel a bit more hopeful now about my financial situation. Thank you!
Yuki Yamamoto
All this FRA and earning limit stuff is why I just waited until I fully stopped working to claim SS!!! The rules are IMPOSSIBLE to understand and I was terrified of messing up and owing them money later. SSA is the WORST at explaining their own rules clearly!!! 😡😡😡
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Aisha Rahman
•Same!! I waited until I completely retired too. My neighbor tried to do this partial year thing and ended up with an overpayment notice a year later. Too much hassle!
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Mateo Perez
•The rules can seem complicated, but they're actually quite straightforward once you understand them. The key is just knowing which income counts (work earnings) and which doesn't (pensions, investments, etc.). For most people reaching FRA with modest work income, there's usually no benefit reduction at all.
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Aisha Rahman
My sister just went through this! Very important - make sure you tell Social Security your EXACT planned retirement date when you apply. She told them she'd work until June but then decided to quit in February, and didn't notify them. They kept withholding benefits based on her original income estimate and it took months to fix. Just keep SSA updated on any changes to your work plans!
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Zara Malik
•That's a great point! I'm pretty set on my part-time schedule through April, but if anything changes, I'll definitely let them know right away. Did your sister have to pay anything back?
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Aisha Rahman
•No, she actually got money BACK since she earned less than she originally told them she would. They sent her a nice unexpected check about 6 months later!
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