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
u should definitely reapply anyway. my aunt got denied three times for disability but kept trying and finally got approved. sometimes u just get a different person reviewing ur case.
While persistence can help with disability claims that involve subjective evaluation, GPO calculations are unfortunately very straightforward math. If 2/3 of the pension exceeds the survivor benefit amount, the result will be $0. That said, it never hurts to verify the calculation is correct, especially with COLA adjustments over time.
Thank you everyone for your helpful responses. I'm going to make an appointment with my local Social Security office to review my specific situation. I'll also try that Claimyr service to speak with someone by phone before my appointment so I'm better prepared. It sounds like I might still get $0 due to GPO, but at least I'll know for sure and can check if they're calculating everything correctly. I'll update this thread after I speak with them in case it helps others in my situation!
Join the conversation
I just remembered - my cousin had major problems trying to apply for survivor benefits online. The website kept glitching and then they processed her application wrong!!! She ended up having to go in person after waiting online for like 3 months!! If I were you I would just try to talk to a real person right away and not mess with their horrible website!!!
That's why I mentioned that Claimyr service - it's the only reliable way I found to actually reach a human at SSA. Trying to handle survivor benefits through the website is a nightmare.
Thank you everyone for the helpful information! I've scheduled an appointment with my local SSA office for next week, and I've made notes about asking for the "restricted application" option. I'm still upset about potentially losing 3 years of benefits, but at least I can make better choices going forward. I'll update after my appointment to let you know how it goes and what they tell me about my options.
Good luck with your appointment! Make sure to bring your husband's death certificate, your marriage certificate, both your Social Security numbers, and your ID. It's always better to bring too much documentation than not enough.
Join the conversation
my brother in law had almost the same situation and what nobody told him was that some states have agreements with SSA that exempt certain employees from WEP. worth checking if your state job might be exempt!
Really? I had no idea some state jobs might be exempt! I worked for the Department of Education in our state. I'll definitely ask about possible exemptions when I talk to SSA. Thanks for the tip!
You need to get your Social Security Statement and also your pension statement, then use the WEP calculator on the SSA website. Don't trust what the regular benefit estimate shows! Here's what affects your WEP reduction: 1. How many years you paid into Social Security with "substantial earnings" 2. Whether your pension is from work where you paid SS taxes 3. When you plan to start taking benefits Last tip: If you haven't retired yet, sometimes working an extra year or two in Social Security-covered employment can significantly reduce the WEP penalty. Worth considering if you're close to another threshold year.
That's a great suggestion about working longer in covered employment. I haven't officially retired yet, so maybe I should look into getting a part-time job that pays into Social Security for a year or two after I leave my state job. Might be worth it to boost my benefits for the long term.
Join the conversation
my financial advisor told me that for most widows its usually best to take survivor benefits first and then switch to your own at 70 IF your own benefit would be higher with the delayed credits. but if your own benefit is already 3x higher right now, waiting might not make sense. every situation is different!
There's actually a relatively simple way to calculate your break-even point. If your FRA benefit is $3,400 and you delay 4 years to get 32% more (about $4,488), you're giving up $2,200/month for 48 months ($105,600 total) to get an extra $1,088/month for the rest of your life after 70. $105,600 ÷ $1,088 = 97 months (about 8 years) to break even So if you expect to live beyond age 78, delaying still makes mathematical sense even with the big difference between benefits. Of course, this doesn't account for investment potential of that money if you took it earlier, or tax considerations.
Thank you for breaking down the math so clearly. That really helps me understand the tradeoffs. Since women in my family typically live into their late 80s or 90s, waiting still might be the better option for me. I need to call SSA and confirm my exact benefit amounts to be sure.
Layla Sanders
One thing nobody's mentioned - if your husband goes over the earnings limit in a month, ONLY THAT MONTH'S benefits are affected. It's not like you lose everything forever! And once he reaches full retirement age (66+), the earnings limit goes away completely and he can earn as much as he wants with no penalty. So even if you make a mistake, it's not the end of the world.
0 coins
Anna Stewart
•That's really good to know! I was envisioning worst-case scenarios where we'd have to pay back everything. It's still scary since we rely on those payments, but at least it would be limited to just the months he went over. And you're right - only 4 more years until he doesn't have to worry about this at all!
0 coins
Kaylee Cook
wait plasma donations are worth $500 a month???? maybe i should start doing that lol
0 coins
Adrian Hughes
•yeah but its not easy money... my cousin does it and says it takes like 2 hrs each time and u feel pretty wiped out after. plus they dont pay as much if u dont weigh enough or if your protein levels drop.
0 coins