has anyone mentioned the kids can get benefits from BOTH US and canada? my friends kids got both after their dad died who worked in both countries, but i dont know much about how it worked

Since you're dealing with both US and Canadian benefits, here's what I recommend for your planning: 1. Request your SSA earnings record and your CPP contribution statement to confirm your work history in both countries is accurate. 2. For your wife's planning, she should compare these scenarios: - Taking survivor benefits at her FRA, then switching to her own SS at 70 - Taking her own reduced benefit early, then switching to survivor benefits at her FRA 3. Calculate the family maximum benefit now so you have realistic expectations for what your children will receive. 4. Contact both SSA and Service Canada to confirm children's eligibility for survivor benefits under both systems. 5. Consider consulting with a financial planner who specializes in cross-border retirement planning, particularly someone with expertise in the US-Canada Social Security Agreement. The fact that survivor benefits aren't reduced by WEP is extremely important to your planning and could significantly impact your strategy.

One more important thing: if your friend's husband worked in both SS-covered employment AND government employment not covered by SS, the SSA will need to carefully review his earnings record to calculate the correct benefit. Make sure she brings his complete work history if possible. Also, the fact that she receives a small SS benefit suggests she might have enough SS-covered work quarters to potentially reduce the GPO impact. The rules are extremely technical, which is why an in-person appointment with documentation is crucial.

Just to add - there's a movement to repeal GPO and WEP with multiple bills introduced in Congress over the years, but nothing has passed yet. The Social Security Fairness Act would eliminate both provisions, but it's been stalled for years despite bipartisan support. Public pension recipients should follow this legislation.

dont bother with the phone unless you want to wait 3 hours!!! go to the offfice in person and bring your mom's ID and your dad's too

I went through something similar with my grandparents last year. One thing to consider - if your mom gets approved for the higher spousal benefit, make sure SSA knows where to deposit it. If she's been getting her own benefit via direct deposit, they should use the same account, but sometimes they mess up and send a paper check for the new amount which can cause confusion. Also, when you call SSA, specifically ask about their "Compassionate Allowances" process since both your parents have serious medical conditions. This won't affect the benefit amount but might expedite the processing. And definitely pursue the Medicaid application simultaneously - at their ages with those medical conditions, they'd likely qualify for home health aide services which would be life-changing given what you described.

Regarding citizenship - for Social Security benefits purposes, citizenship is less important than residency status. Since the daughter is residing in Spain and is not a US citizen, she's treated as a nonresident alien under US tax law, subject to the treaty provisions between the US and Spain. One other important point about the Representative Payee situation - since the mother is a non-US citizen living abroad, SSA might require additional verification and documentation. This could include more frequent Representative Payee accounting reports. She should ask the FBU specifically about any special requirements for her situation. Also, make sure your friend keeps all documentation of how the benefits are spent on behalf of her daughter. Foreign Representative Payees sometimes face additional scrutiny.

A dedicated bank account is definitely a good idea! Representative Payees are actually required to keep Social Security funds separate from their own money. The account should be titled in a way that shows the child owns the money but the mother manages it - something like "Maria Rodriguez, representative payee for Sofia Rodriguez, beneficiary." This makes it much easier to track how funds are spent and complete the annual Representative Payee Report. It also helps prevent any appearance of misuse of funds, which can be especially important in international cases where there might be more scrutiny.

Given what you've said - he's 67, has memory issues, is unemployed, and you need the money - I think he should file right now. Here's my reasoning: 1. You're struggling financially - $2,200/month would help immediately 2. The memory issues create risk for a more complicated application later 3. He's already at FRA so there's no penalty for filing now 4. Your SSDI plus his retirement would give you about $3,950/month combined While waiting until 70 would give him an extra $528/month, that's 36 months of not receiving $2,200/month - that's $79,200 you'd be missing out on in the short term. You'd need to live over 12 years beyond age 70 just to break even on that decision.

To answer your question about survivor benefits: If your husband passes away, you would receive the higher of the two benefits, not both. So you would stop receiving your SSDI and instead receive his Social Security retirement benefit as a survivor benefit. This is why his benefit amount matters for your long-term financial security as well. Given your current financial situation and his cognitive challenges, filing now seems most prudent. The immediate financial relief outweighs the potential long-term gain, especially considering the administrative challenges you might face if his condition worsens.