Can't reach Social Security Administration? Claimyr connects you to a live SSA agent in minutes.
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Using Claimyr will:
- Connect you to a human agent at the SSA
- Skip the long phone menu
- Call the correct department
- Redial until on hold
- Forward a call to your phone with reduced hold time
- Give you free callbacks if the SSA drops your call
If I could give 10 stars I would
If I could give 10 stars I would If I could give 10 stars I would Such an amazing service so needed during the times when EDD almost never picks up Claimyr gets me on the phone with EDD every time without fail faster. A much needed service without Claimyr I would have never received the payment I needed to support me during my postpartum recovery. Thank you so much Claimyr!
Really made a difference
Really made a difference, save me time and energy from going to a local office for making the call.
Worth not wasting your time calling for hours.
Was a bit nervous or untrusting at first, but my calls went thru. First time the wait was a bit long but their customer chat line on their page was helpful and put me at ease that I would receive my call. Today my call dropped because of EDD and Claimyr heard my concern on the same chat and another call was made within the hour.
An incredibly helpful service
An incredibly helpful service! Got me connected to a CA EDD agent without major hassle (outside of EDD's agents dropping calls – which Claimyr has free protection for). If you need to file a new claim and can't do it online, pay the $ to Claimyr to get the process started. Absolutely worth it!
Consistent,frustration free, quality Service.
Used this service a couple times now. Before I'd call 200 times in less than a weak frustrated as can be. But using claimyr with a couple hours of waiting i was on the line with an representative or on hold. Dropped a couple times but each reconnected not long after and was mission accomplished, thanks to Claimyr.
IT WORKS!! Not a scam!
I tried for weeks to get thru to EDD PFL program with no luck. I gave this a try thinking it may be a scam. OMG! It worked and They got thru within an hour and my claim is going to finally get paid!! I upgraded to the $60 call. Best $60 spent!
Ask the community...
- DO post questions about your issues.
- DO answer questions and support each other.
- DO post tips & tricks to help folks.
- DO NOT post call problems here - there is a support tab at the top for that :)
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my frend had same problem she went 2 congressman office and they fixed everything in 2 weeks!! try that maybe?
Thank you everyone for the suggestions! I'm going to try using the specific terminology that was recommended when I call next time - "Medicare Beneficiary Statement" and "Special Notice Flag" seem like the magic words I need. If I can't get through on the phone, I'll try that Claimyr service someone mentioned. As a last resort, I like the idea of contacting my congressman's office - I hadn't thought of that. It's somewhat comforting to know I'm not the only one dealing with this WEP/GPO communication black hole. I'll update here if I make progress!
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wait i thought IRA was better than individual 401k for most people? my brother in law said individual 401ks have more paperwork and fees. did your advisor explain why he recommended that instead?
Individual 401ks (also called Solo 401ks) actually have higher contribution limits than IRAs. For 2024, you can contribute up to $23,000 as employee deferral plus about 25% of your business income as employer contribution, up to a total of $69,000. IRAs are limited to $7,000/year ($8,000 if over 50). They do require more paperwork once they exceed $250k in assets, but for high-earning self-employed people, the higher contribution limits often outweigh the administrative burden.
Thanks to everyone for the helpful responses! This community is amazing. To summarize what I learned: 1. 401k rollovers don't affect SS benefit calculations in any way 2. Social Security only cares about my earnings record where I paid FICA/self-employment tax 3. I need to be careful about self-employment tax reporting to keep building my SS record 4. I'll need to file Form 5500-EZ once my individual 401k exceeds $250k 5. Retirement account withdrawals can affect how my SS benefits are taxed in retirement This gives me a lot more confidence moving forward with my rollover plan. I'll be creating an account on ssa.gov to check my earnings history too. Thanks again!
Smart plan!! Make sure you ALSO download and SAVE your SS statement from the website!! Sometimes the system has outages and it's GOOD to have your records saved locally!!
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THE WHOLE SYSTEM IS RIGGED AGAINST US!!! They purposely make these rules complicated so people don't get what they deserve! My husband and I missed out on this strategy by FIVE MONTHS because he was born in May 1954. FIVE MONTHS cost us thousands of dollars!!! And now they're practically impossible to reach by phone when you need help. The whole system needs to be torn down and rebuilt!!
I feel ur pain!! my brother missed it by 3 weeks!! born jan 21 1954... so frustrating!!
Just wanted to update everyone - I successfully filed my restricted application yesterday! I used some of the advice here (especially bringing a printout of the POMS section) and was very explicit about wanting ONLY spousal benefits while my own continue to grow until 70. The representative initially seemed confused but after I showed the documentation, they understood. I double-checked the application before signing to make sure it only showed spousal benefits. It'll mean about $1,250/month for the next four years while my own benefit grows to about $3,400/month at age 70. Thanks everyone for your help! Hopefully this thread helps others in my generation who still qualify for this strategy.
Fantastic news! You just secured yourself potentially tens of thousands in additional lifetime benefits by handling this correctly. Congratulations on navigating the system successfully!
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Wait isn't the earnings limit going up for 2025? I thought I saw somewhere it was going to be more than $22,340?
You're right to question this. The 2025 limit hasn't been officially announced yet. The $22,340 figure is likely an estimate based on previous COLA increases. The actual 2025 limit will be announced in October 2024, and it will probably be a bit higher depending on the COLA for 2025. For planning purposes though, the $22,340 estimate is reasonable.
dont forget they also look at how many months before u reach FRA... the earnings limit is different in the year u reach full retirement age too
Good point. I won't reach my FRA until 2029, so I'll have the lower earnings limit for several years. I'll need to be careful about any part-time work I might do after officially retiring.
Nathaniel Mikhaylov
To directly answer your question about whether it's worth working 10 more months: Calculate what your benefit would be with the delayed retirement credits (about 6.67% more for 10 months beyond FRA). Then multiply that monthly increase by how many months you expect to collect benefits (life expectancy). If that total exceeds what you'd earn by working those 10 months (after taxes), then retiring might make more financial sense. But also factor in non-financial considerations like job satisfaction, health, and retirement plans.
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Brandon Parker
•Thank you, this is really helpful! I'll do that math and see where things stand. I'm in good health and my parents both lived into their 90s, so I could be collecting for 25+ years potentially.
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Kristian Bishop
I recommend calling SSA directly about this. The online estimates can sometimes have issues, especially with recent earnings. A $5 increase sounds suspiciously low and may indicate a calculation error or a data entry problem. The representative can walk through your entire earnings record and benefit calculation with you to explain exactly why the increase is so small.
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Brandon Parker
•I think that's what I need to do. I want to understand exactly how they're calculating this before I make any decisions about working longer. Thanks for the suggestion!
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