To directly answer your question: Yes, your wife will continue to receive auxiliary benefits as the mother of a minor child when you switch from retirement to SSDI. And yes, her payment will likely increase, though not necessarily by the same percentage as your increase. The technical explanation: When you switch to SSDI, two things happen that affect family benefits: 1. Your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) increases because SSDI doesn't apply the reduction factor for early retirement 2. The Family Maximum Benefit (FMB) is calculated differently under SSDI rules than under retirement rules Generally, the family maximum for SSDI is 150% of your PIA for a disabled worker and one or more auxiliaries. This means if your benefit increases by $675, your wife's benefit might increase by about $337 (assuming you're not already at the family maximum). As others have mentioned, watch for potential disruptions during the transition period. SSA may need to recalculate and adjust payments, which sometimes causes temporary payment issues.

One more thing to think about - when your son turns 16, your wife's benefits will stop until she turns 62 unless she's disabled herself. that surprised us!

To your original question - you're absolutely right that you need 40 quarters (10 years) of Social Security-covered employment to qualify for retirement benefits. If you're at 22 quarters now, you'd need 18 more, which means about 4.5 more years of work where you pay into Social Security. If you do get those 40 quarters and qualify, your benefit would still be reduced by WEP because of your state pension. The reduction is most severe if you have under 20 years of substantial earnings. Each year of substantial earnings you have between 20-30 years reduces the WEP penalty gradually. Since you said you have 23 years in state government, I'm assuming most or all of that was non-covered employment (not paying into Social Security). So you'd need to figure out how many years of substantial earnings under Social Security you actually have.

Something else to consider - even if you get your 40 quarters and qualify for Social Security retirement benefits (reduced by WEP), you should also check if the Government Pension Offset (GPO) might affect any potential spousal or survivor benefits you might be eligible for. GPO is separate from WEP and reduces spousal/survivor benefits by 2/3 of your government pension amount. These provisions can be quite complex, so it might be worth consulting with a financial advisor who specializes in federal benefits before finalizing your retirement plans. The SSA's WEP calculator can also help you estimate the impact: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/anyPiaWepjs04.html

I had a similar situation 2 years ago. Bad health, income dropped, worried about SS calculation. What I found is that Social Security replaces more of your income if you're a lower earner (it's progressive). So the calculation isn't strictly proportional. Someone earning $30k doesn't get exactly half the benefit of someone earning $60k. The lower earner actually gets more than half.

After reading all this advice, what are you thinking you'll do? It's good to get different perspectives, but ultimately it's a personal decision based on your unique circumstances.

ANYBODY dealing with SS should know they ALWAYS mess up family maximum calculations!!!! I had to fight them for 6 months and finally got backpay for my kids of over $7000 because they calculated wrong from the beginning!!!! KEEP FIGHTING!!

To summarize the key points for anyone else with a similar family maximum question: 1. When you receive benefits on your own work record plus a spousal top-up, only the spousal portion counts against the family maximum on your spouse's record 2. At FRA, you can file for your own retirement first, then apply for the spousal benefit if it would result in a higher total benefit 3. The SSA will not automatically recalculate other family members' benefits when your benefit source changes - you must request this recalculation 4. Consider the long-term impact of claiming strategies - maximizing benefits now might reduce lifetime benefits if delaying until 70 would be more advantageous 5. Document all conversations with SSA representatives and get explanations in writing when possible 6. If WEP potentially applies due to non-covered employment, that adds another layer of complexity requiring specialized assistance

i heard we're supposed to get ALL the money back not just some of it??? my neighbor said her financial guy told her it could be like $40k for some people who've been retired a long time with WEP

Thank you all for the helpful information! I'm going to wait until the bill actually passes before making any decisions. In the meantime, I'll try to get through to SSA using that Claimyr service someone mentioned to get official guidance on my specific situation. I've been losing sleep over potentially making the wrong decision, but I feel much better now understanding that I should be eligible for both the retroactive payment AND potentially switching to spousal benefits afterward.