Can't reach Social Security Administration? Claimyr connects you to a live SSA agent in minutes.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the SSA
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the SSA drops your call
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!
Really made a difference
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.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
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!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
Join the conversation
Join the conversation
After considering the earnings test information and your continued employment until August 2025, here's what I'd suggest: Call Social Security and have them calculate your break-even point with WEP factored in. Then make your decision based on your health/longevity expectations and financial needs. Also, file a
Join the conversation
Not to get off topic but make sure your brother applies for both SSDI and SSI at the same time. I didn't know you could do both and it delayed my benefits by months. The SSA should automatically screen for both but sometimes they don't.
That's really good to know. He worked consistently until about 2 years ago when his MS started getting worse, so I think SSDI would be his main benefit. But we'll definitely make sure both are considered.
An update based on the questions - yes, being in different states is not a problem for either the SSA-3288 or SSA-1696 forms. For the SSA-1696, you don't need to show ID when submitting the form, but you will need your brother's signature on it. The easiest approach would be to: 1. Help him start his disability application online 2. List yourself as a contact person on that application 3. Submit the SSA-3288 form to allow information sharing 4. Only pursue the SSA-1696 if you need to formally represent him later This gives you the ability to help with forms and communicate with SSA on his behalf without the more formal representative relationship that's typically used for attorneys or appeal situations.
Thank you so much for this clear step-by-step plan! This makes it much easier to understand. We'll start with the online application this weekend.
Join the conversation
One more thing to consider - if your husband passes away before you, at that point you would be eligible for survivor benefits. As a widow, you could receive up to 100% of what your husband was receiving (including his delayed retirement credits). So while you might not get additional spousal benefits now, his decision to wait until 70 could still benefit you substantially in the future through higher survivor benefits.
This is exactly why my financial advisor told me and my wife to have the higher earner delay as long as possible - it's like buying life insurance through Social Security! The survivor benefit calculation is sooo much better than the stupid spousal benefit rules.
dont forget about taxes!!!! if you get more SS benefits you might have to pay more taxes on them if your over the limit. my brother got a big surprise at tax time last year
That's a good point. We're already paying some tax on our Social Security, but I'll keep that in mind if there is an increase. Thanks!
Join the conversation
wait i just thought of something else - if ur brother ever gets remarried after 60 it wont affect any of his ss benefits. my uncle got remarried at 72 and was worried but the SSA said it dont matter after age 60!!
That's correct. For survivor benefits, remarriage after age 60 doesn't affect eligibility. However, in this specific situation, it doesn't appear that the brother would be eligible for survivor benefits anyway since his own benefit is likely higher than what his wife's benefit would have been with only 4-5 years of work.
That's good to know! He's not planning to remarry right now, but it's helpful information for the future. Thanks for sharing that detail.
One more thing to consider - if your brother hasn't already, he should make sure the Social Security Administration knows about his wife's passing. Sometimes there can be issues if they aren't properly notified. Also, if he's struggling financially, he might want to check if he qualifies for any other programs like Medicare Savings Programs or Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug costs. These aren't related to survivor benefits but could help with his overall financial situation.
That's a great suggestion about those other programs. He's on a pretty tight budget these days, so I'll definitely mention those options to him. I believe he did notify SSA when she passed, but I'll double-check with him. Thanks for the thoughtful advice!
Andre Rousseau
Update: I finally got through to SSA after trying different times of day (Wednesday at 4pm seemed to have shorter wait times). The agent confirmed that I can indeed claim the full survivor benefit at 66 and 10 months instead of waiting until 67 and 2 months. They also said I absolutely need the death certificate - they won't process the claim without it. I'm going to request one from the county where he passed away. Thanks everyone for your help!
0 coins
AstroAdventurer
•glad u got thru! good luck with everything!
0 coins
Jamal Carter
MAKE SURE you keep copies of EVERYTHING you send them!!! My friend had her original marriage certificate LOST by SSA and it was a nightmare to replace!!! They deny everything when they make mistakes!!!
0 coins
Andre Rousseau
•Oh no, that's terrible! Thanks for the warning - I'll definitely make copies of everything before I submit anything.
0 coins