Can't reach Social Security Administration? Claimyr connects you to a live SSA agent in minutes.
Claimyr is a pay-as-you-go service. We do not charge a recurring subscription.
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 :)
Join the conversation
Join the conversation
my sister had the same problem and she just let them withhold the payments to recoup the overage then everything went back to normal. she didn't want the hassle of withdrawing and reapplying. less paperwork.
That's definitely the simplest approach! Did your sister end up reaching FRA during this process? I'm wondering if she saw her benefit amount adjust later as someone else mentioned might happen.
To clarify something important about the Adjustment to the Reduction Factor that was mentioned: This only applies if your husband started receiving benefits BEFORE his FRA. Since he started at 66 (which is before his FRA of 66+8 months for someone born in 1958), any months where benefits are completely withheld due to earnings will be credited back to him after he reaches FRA. SSA will automatically recalculate and slightly increase his monthly benefit to account for those months where he received no payment. This is why running the exact calculations is so important - withdrawing and reapplying later means repaying benefits now, but getting a higher amount later. Letting SSA withhold benefits means keeping what he's already received, getting a slightly increased amount later, but still having taken benefits early with some permanent reduction.
This makes the decision even more complex than I initially thought. It seems like we need to calculate: (1) how much we'd need to repay now if withdrawing, (2) what his new benefit would be at FRA if we withdraw vs. the adjusted amount after ARF if we don't withdraw, and (3) how many years it would take to break even between these options. I think we definitely need to speak with an SSA representative to get these exact figures before deciding.
Join the conversation
I think I'm confused about something - isn't the Fairness Act different from the WEP/GPO repeal? My brother-in-law was talking about some social security fairness bill that had to do with caretakers getting credits or something like that. Are we talking about the same legislation??
You're thinking of a different bill. The Social Security Fairness Act specifically addresses WEP and GPO repeals for public servants with pensions. The caregiver credits would be part of the Social Security Caregiver Credit Act, which is separate legislation that would allow people who leave the workforce to care for dependents to receive Social Security credits for that time.
Oh thanks for clearing that up! There are so many bills with similar names it gets confusing.
Thanks everyone for the information. Sounds like I shouldn't count on this passing anytime soon, though I'll keep hoping. In the meantime, does anyone know if there are any strategies to minimize the WEP impact? I've heard something about getting to 30 years of substantial earnings can reduce the WEP penalty. I have 18 years now - would it be worth trying to work part-time somewhere to get to 30 years?
You're absolutely right about the 30-year strategy. The WEP reduction is eliminated entirely if you have 30+ years of substantial earnings in Social Security-covered employment. For 2025, 'substantial earnings' means earning at least $32,175 in a year. Since you already have 18 years, you would need 12 more years meeting that threshold to completely eliminate the WEP reduction. There's also a sliding scale - each year of substantial earnings over 20 years reduces the WEP penalty. So even getting to 20, 21, or 22 years would help somewhat.
This is what makes me SO MAD about this whole system! Why should we have to work EXTRA YEARS just to get what everyone else gets automatically?? Public servants are being PUNISHED for choosing careers helping others!!
Join the conversation
My husband went through this exact situation 3 years ago with Prudential. He signed their papers, they assigned a lawyer, and he got approved for SSDI on the first try (which is rare!). When his backpay came in (about $17k), we had to pay back Prudential. It felt unfair but was in the policy contract. One thing to watch for - make sure they calculate your ongoing benefits correctly after SSDI kicks in. They made errors in my husband's case and we had to fight to get it fixed.
That's really helpful to hear someone else's experience. What kind of errors did they make with the calculation? I want to know what to watch out for.
They calculated his SSDI amount incorrectly (used the wrong dollar amount) which made his LTD payment too low. Then they didn't account for the fact that his dependent also received a small SSDI benefit, which shouldn't have affected his LTD but they counted it anyway. We had to send multiple letters and make many calls to get it fixed. Keep ALL paperwork from SSA showing exact benefit amounts, and double-check their math!
Thank you for the warning! I'll definitely keep careful records of everything. Really appreciate everyone's help with understanding this process.
Join the conversation
my neighbor said you could get benefits from multiple spouses but i guess thats wrong from what everyone here is saying?
Your neighbor is completely wrong. You can never receive benefits from multiple spouses simultaneously. You can only receive one benefit - the highest one you're eligible for. The SSA will always pay your own retirement benefit first, and then supplement it if a spousal or survivor benefit would be higher.
congrats on figuring out ur ss strategy! ive been putting off even thinking about it bc its so confusing lol. good luck with ur application!!
Thanks! It definitely took me months of research to figure out what works best for my situation. My advice is to start looking into it earlier than you think you need to - there are so many rules and exceptions to understand!
NebulaNova
One additional point regarding your situation: while those zero years won't be replaced with your ex-spouse's earnings, there is a "caregiver credit" proposal that's been discussed in Congress for several years. It would provide earnings credits for people who leave the workforce to care for children or elderly family members. It hasn't passed yet, but if you're interested in advocacy on this issue, organizations like the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare are working on it. In the meantime, maximize your earnings for the remaining years of your career to replace as many zero years as possible in your benefit calculation.
0 coins
Dmitry Volkov
•Thanks for mentioning the caregiver credit proposal - I hadn't heard about that. I'll definitely look into organizations advocating for this change. It's too late for me, but maybe future generations of parents won't be penalized for raising their children.
0 coins
Miguel Ortiz
Just to add to what others have said - when calculating your benefit, Social Security uses your highest 35 years of indexed earnings. The 'indexed' part is important because it adjusts your past earnings to account for wage inflation over time. So while those 10 years do count as zeros, if you're working now, even part-time jobs could potentially replace some of those zeros in your calculation. Also, when you apply for benefits, SSA will automatically calculate whether a spousal benefit based on your current husband's record would give you a higher monthly payment than your own record. You'll receive whichever is higher - they do this calculation automatically.
0 coins