Thank you all for the incredibly helpful responses! I've made a list of questions based on your suggestions. One more thing - has anyone dealt with the lump sum retroactive payment? If I take the 6 months retroactive benefits, does that permanently reduce my monthly amount as if I had filed 6 months earlier? Or do I still get my full FRA amount going forward?

when i had my call they rushed me through everything and i forgot half my questions! write everything down ahead of time and dont let them rush you. if you have a spouse definitely mention that because they might not ask. good luck!!

Anyone else notice how IMPOSSIBLE it is to get accurate info from SSA??? Every time I call I get different answers! One person says they'll take 10%, another says they'll take it all at once, another says I need to fill out forms... it's exhausting! I've had my SSDI on hold twice and both times it caused me so much stress I ended up in the ER!

To follow up on what others have said, you should submit Form SSA-634 (Request for Change in Overpayment Recovery Rate) if the standard 10% would cause you financial hardship. You'll need to provide your monthly income and expenses to justify a lower rate. When you talk to SSA, be sure to ask them to explain why your account shows "on hold" - sometimes this is just an automated status during processing, but other times it could indicate they need additional information from you before releasing your payment. Also, since your overpayment was from work income, ask if you qualify for an "unsuccessful work attempt" provision, which might actually reduce or eliminate the overpayment amount entirely if your work lasted less than 6 months and ended due to your disability.

My situation was similar but I had a completely different outcome. My husband died, I got survivors benefits, kept working, had some reductions. I'm thinking the rules must have changed recently? Because when I switched to my own benefit two years ago, they did some kind of adjustment. Maybe talk to a different SSA person?

Thank you everyone for the helpful information! I'm going to schedule my appointment to file for retirement benefits soon, and I'll make sure to check my earnings record carefully beforehand. It's disappointing about not getting those deductions back, but at least now I understand how it works and won't be surprised. I appreciate all your insights!

The SSA can be TERRIBLE about this stuff! My mom has dementia but not "bad enough" according to them initially. We had to get multiple doctor letters and it took MONTHS before they approved a payee. Meanwhile she lost almost $5000 to scammers!! Ask for a supervisor if they give you any runaround.

Thank you everyone for all this helpful information! I've made notes on everything and will be contacting her doctor tomorrow for that documentation. I'll try to schedule an appointment with SSA using the Claimyr service since it sounds like getting through is the first big hurdle. I'm relieved to hear this is possible without full guardianship. I think my aunt will agree once I explain everything carefully - she was actually in tears last week after realizing she'd been scammed, so I think she knows she needs help even if it's hard to admit. I'll update once we get through the process in case it helps others in the same situation.

Does anybody know if this impacts the earnings test? I'm 63 getting SS but still teaching part-time and they take back some of my benefits whenever I make over the limit. SOOOO FRUSTRATING!!!!

Update: I finally spoke with someone at Social Security. They confirmed there haven't been any changes to the GPO rules that would affect my situation. The agent explained that any legislation would need to specifically address retroactive changes to current beneficiaries like me. She suggested I check the SSA website every few months for updates or sign up for their email newsletter. Thanks everyone for your helpful responses!