One more thing to keep in mind - since your wife is at full retirement age (FRA), she's eligible for the full spousal benefit of 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (before any GPO reduction). If she's eligible for both her own retirement benefit and a spousal benefit, SSA will pay her own benefit plus the difference to equal the higher amount. Also, since she's past FRA, there's no penalty for either of you working while collecting benefits. The earnings test doesn't apply after FRA. Bring to your appointment: 1. Photo ID for both of you 2. Social Security cards 3. Marriage certificate 4. Pension documentation with lump sum details 5. Recent tax returns 6. Bank account information for direct deposit Good luck with your appointment!

after all ur appointments done come back and tell us what happend! lots of us dealing with same stuff and its helpful to hear real examples

Just to clarify some misunderstandings I'm seeing in this thread: For survivor benefits, the rules are different than for regular retirement benefits. While it's true you can apply as early as 60, the benefit reduction formula is different. Also, if you remarry after age 60, you can still collect survivor benefits from your previous spouse. As for the original poster's situation, at age 70, you would receive 100% of your deceased husband's benefit amount IF it's higher than your current retirement benefit. You should request an appointment specifically for survivor benefits and ask them to do a complete benefits calculation to determine the best option for you. One more tip: if your husband had delayed retirement credits (meaning he worked past his full retirement age), those would be factored into your survivor benefit as well.

Yes, that's correct about remarriage after 60 for survivor benefits! It's different from spousal benefits (where remarriage at any age ends eligibility). For survivors, if you remarry after 60, you can still claim on your deceased spouse's record. Confusing, I know!

Don't let anyone tell you there's nothing you can do about these unfair provisions! There are bills in Congress right now to reform or eliminate WEP/GPO. Contact your representatives! My mom's teacher group is fighting this tooth and nail. Public servants deserve better!

Thank you all for your helpful responses! I've scheduled an in-person appointment at my local SSA office for next week and I'm gathering all my pension documentation. I've also made a list of questions based on all your advice. I'm still frustrated about the WEP/GPO reductions, but at least I understand the process better now. I'll update once I've had my appointment and let you know how it goes.

I think its great that the GPO is finally going away. My mom lost out on so many benefits because of that unfair rule. She worked for the school system for 35 years and got almost nothing from dads SS when he passed away, even though he worked and paid in his whole life!

That's exactly why this change was needed! So many public servants were effectively penalized twice - once with often lower government pensions compared to private sector, and then again by being denied Social Security benefits their spouses earned. My sister feels like she's been waiting forever for this fix.

wait im confused about the gpo thing...does this mean teachers cant get ANY spouse benefits?? my wife is retiring from teaching next year, will she get any of my ss??

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! Looks like I need to contact SSA directly to get a definitive answer. I'll try calling them (with help from that service someone mentioned if needed) and specifically ask if there's an application on file for me. Even though the GPO means I'll get $0 either way, I just want to make sure everything is correct in their system. I appreciate all the explanations about how the notation on my statement might just be showing my theoretical entitlement rather than confirming I've applied.