they asked me for a letter from his doctor about his care needs and why he cant be left alone. i also gave them his guardianship papers and IEP from when he was in school showing his severe disability. and my work schedule showing i only work part time now to care for him

To answer the recent question - grandparents can qualify for this benefit in place of parents if they are the legal guardian providing care for a disabled individual receiving survivor benefits. The same criteria apply regarding care requirements and work limitations. One important note for everyone: If approved, the Mother's/Father's benefit is generally 75% of the deceased person's primary insurance amount, but may be reduced by the family maximum benefit limit if multiple people receive benefits on the same earnings record. This is something to be aware of when calculating potential benefit amounts.

My friend's husband died last year and she got survivors benefits at 60 without any earnings test! why is that different from retirement?

When I had to figure out my strategy, I made a spreadsheet comparing different scenarios. Have you run the numbers for: 1) Claim at 62 + part-time work, 2) Work full-time until 63 or 64 then claim, and 3) Work until FRA? Each year you delay claiming increases your benefit by about 7-8%. It's really a math problem specific to your situation.

My sister went thru this with my mom. The caregiver payments were a problem during Medicaid application cuz they didn't have a formal agreement. They ended up having to pay back some money to qualify mom for Medicaid. Make sure you're charging a fair market rate. In our area agencies charge like $25-30/hr for similar care, so document your hours to show you're not overcharging.

Since everyone's focused on Medicaid, I want to address your Social Security question specifically: When someone needs a nursing home, their Social Security benefits typically continue but may be used differently: 1. If she goes on Medicaid, most of her Social Security check will go to the facility as her "patient responsibility" contribution, with a small personal needs allowance (usually $30-60/month depending on state). 2. You should become her representative payee with SSA before facility placement to ensure proper handling of benefits. 3. The caregiver payments won't affect her Social Security benefits directly, but will be scrutinized during Medicaid application. Call SSA directly about the rep payee process - it requires specific forms and sometimes an in-person interview.

my neigbor got ex spouse benefits even with a government pension but only because his ex made ALOT of money and had huge ss benefit. depends on the numbers in your case

One more thing to consider - you mentioned you didn't have enough credits for your own Social Security benefit. However, if you've worked any jobs covered by Social Security since your initial application (even part-time), you might be closer to qualifying for your own benefit. It takes 40 credits (about 10 years of work) to qualify for retirement benefits on your own record, and those benefits wouldn't be subject to GPO (though they could be reduced by WEP). Even a small benefit on your own record might be better than nothing if the GPO eliminates your ex-spouse benefit entirely.

Let me clarify a few important points about divorced spouse benefits that might help with your decision: 1. For ex-spouse benefits, you need to remain unmarried, but the ex-spouse's current marital status doesn't matter. They could be remarried multiple times and it doesn't affect your eligibility. 2. For survivor benefits if your ex passes away, the rules are different - you can remarry after age 60 and still collect. 3. There's no "waiting period" for eligibility after a divorce, but as someone mentioned, SSA may scrutinize divorces that happen suspiciously close to benefit applications. 4. Importantly, if you're born after 1954, you cannot file for divorced spouse benefits separately from your own. Due to the deemed filing rules, you'll automatically receive whichever is higher when you file - your own benefit or the divorced spouse benefit. 5. Since you mentioned the difference is about $850/month, have you verified this takes into account any potential reduction for claiming early, if that's your plan? If you decide marriage now is important for other reasons (health insurance, home purchase), just be aware of the clean break needed before applying for benefits in the future.

SOCIAL SECURITY IS SO UNFAIR!!!! Why should anyone have to make these ridiculous choices between health insurance now and benefits later?? My friend had to stay in an unhappy marriage for YEARS just to reach the 10-year mark for Social Security. The whole system is designed to trap people in relationships or force them to make these weird divorce calculations. Europe doesn't make people jump through these kinds of hoops!! I'm sorry I don't have advice but I'm just so ANGRY about how complicated they make everything!!