WHY is everything with Social Security so COMPLICATED?! I swear they make these questions confusing on purpose. My sister answered this wrong and her application was delayed by TWO MONTHS while they sorted it out!!

If you're unsure about this or any other question on your application, it's always best to include an explanation in the remarks section. Something like: "My mother received survivor benefits on my behalf from 1975-1981 after my father passed away." This additional clarity can help prevent processing delays.

Thank you all so much for these detailed responses. I'm going to keep my phone appointment and come prepared with questions about both benefit types. I'll also write down my earnings record and what I know about my late husband's benefits so I can compare the numbers during the call. Since it sounds like my born-in-1956 status still allows me to choose between survivor OR retirement (just not both at once), I'll need to understand the long-term impacts of each option. Really appreciate everyone sharing their experiences and knowledge!

my aunt tried to get retroactive and they denied her even tho they totally gave wrong info. said she couldnt prove it. good luck

i had to deal with this last yr too and went in circles for months!! they kept asking for more proof and more proof until i finally gave up and just didn't claim until this year. The system is broken!

One more important thing - when your benefits are withheld due to earnings, they're not lost forever! Once you reach FRA, SSA will recalculate and give you credit for those months, resulting in a permanent increase to your monthly benefit amount going forward. So even if you can't get the exception for non-work months, any withheld benefits do eventually come back to you in the form of higher payments later.

BTW they change these rules all the time! My dad was a teacher and thought he was fine, then Congress changed the formula for WEP calculation the year before he retired and it cost him like $400/month in benefits. Keep an eye on legislation too.

To directly answer your original question: If you're currently teaching in a position where you pay into Social Security, and will have 30 years of substantial earnings under Social Security by retirement, you will NOT be subject to WEP regardless of your pension. Since you mentioned you've been teaching for 12 years with Social Security coverage and will have around 30 years total by retirement, you appear to be on track for complete WEP exemption. Just make sure you've met the substantial earnings threshold (which increases slightly each year) for each of those 30 years.

if its at the payment center already they probably caught the mistake themselves. thats what that dept does - checks applications for errors. thats probably why its in review. i wouldnt worry too much

UPDATE: I finally got through to someone at SSA! I took the advice about using Claimyr, and it worked perfectly - got a callback with an agent on the line within 20 minutes. The agent confirmed they had already flagged the Medicare eligibility issue for correction (someone at the payment center caught it). She added notes to my file with the correct information and said my application should be processed within the next 7-10 business days. She also confirmed my benefit amount with the GPO reduction will be $892/month, and I'll receive back payments for the two months since my FRA. Thank you all for your help and suggestions! Such a relief to have this resolved.