My sister's situation has me worried about her future benefits. She just turned 63 and is still working full-time. Her husband was killed in a terrible accident when he was 56, and that was about 10 years ago. The tricky part is they were married for 9 years and 8 months when he passed away - just shy of the 10-year mark I've heard about. She hasn't remarried. When she reaches her full retirement age, can she claim benefits based on his work record if his earnings were higher than hers? Or does she completely lose out because they didn't quite make it to 10 years of marriage? I've been trying to understand survivor benefits but there seem to be different rules compared to spousal benefits. Any insights would be really appreciated!

I'm completely confused about my Social Security retirement benefits now. I'm 64 and a half, worked consistently since I was 22, and just stopped working two weeks ago to move across the country to care for my mom who's battling cancer. Before I left, I called the Social Security office to make sure my benefit wouldn't decrease if I stopped working now but waited until my Full Retirement Age (66 and 10 months) to actually claim. The SSA rep told me very clearly my benefits would NEVER go down from what they are now even if I don't work another day until FRA. But when I checked my Social Security account through the app yesterday, it's showing a LOWER projected benefit amount than what I saw before I quit! Now I don't know who to believe - the SSA representative or the app. Has anyone else experienced this discrepancy? Which one is actually correct? This is really stressful because I based my caregiving decision partly on what that SSA rep told me.

Just found out my husband's SS retirement check will only be around $1,100/month when he takes it at 62 next month. We knew it would be reduced for claiming early, but that amount isn't going to cover our bills. He wants to keep working part-time, but we're confused about the earnings limit. How much can he earn before they start taking money away from his benefits? Is it monthly or yearly? And does it matter if he works for himself vs. a regular job? The SSA website is so confusing with all these different rules!

My mother started receiving survivor benefits after my dad died recently, but the SSA is reducing her check because of the Government Pension Offset (GPO). I believe this is a mistake. She was a New York State teacher for 30+ years but ALSO paid into Social Security throughout her career (unlike teachers in some other states). From everything I've researched, the GPO shouldn't apply if she paid SS taxes on her government job. We brought documentation to our local SSA office about 4 months ago, and the agent agreed there seemed to be an error. They said they'd send it for processing to fix, but nothing has happened. When I called the national number today (couldn't get through locally), the rep insisted that ANY government pension automatically triggers WEP/GPO regardless of SS contributions. Even more concerning - the rep said my mom has been subject to WEP reductions on her own retirement benefit for the past 17 years (she claimed at 62)! Is there a way to verify if this is true? If she's been incorrectly reduced all these years, can she get backpay? I thought I understood these rules pretty well based on SSA's own publications, but now I'm questioning everything. Has anyone here dealt with NYS teacher pensions specifically and GPO/WEP exemptions?

I need some advice about Social Security spousal benefits in a weird situation. I'm 65 and started collecting my SS at 62 due to health problems. Currently getting about $1,350/month which barely covers my rent and medications. My husband and I separated 26 years ago but never legally divorced (no financial reason to at the time). We have adult children but no shared property or assets. Here's the weird part - during our marriage, he could never hold a job for more than a few months while I worked multiple waitressing jobs to support our family and raise the kids alone. But I just found out from our kids that he's been steadily employed for the past 5 years at a good-paying job, and will likely get higher SS benefits than me when he retires in a few years (he's 60 now). Since we're still technically married, what happens with Social Security benefits? Would I get more by filing for spousal benefits when he retires? Or would I be better off finally getting divorced and claiming ex-spouse benefits? Or should I just wait until he passes away someday and claim survivor benefits? It feels wrong that after supporting our family alone, I might get less than him. Not looking for relationship advice - just trying to figure out the best financial strategy with Social Security.