I just remembered something important - ask the doctor to write a note specifically stating your husband cannot work! My husband's neurologist wrote a detailed letter about his limitations and I think that made a big difference in his approval.

Thank you everyone for the helpful advice. After showing my husband these responses, he finally agreed not to work during the application process. We're gathering all his medical records, VA disability documentation, and will be asking his doctors for detailed statements about his limitations. I'm nervous about our finances, but his health and securing these benefits is more important right now. I'll update once we get further in the process.

my neighbor says his son works for ssa and says all the good employees work at the field offices and they put the new people on the phones lol. not sure if thats true but made me laugh

One important thing to consider in your situation - since your husband is only 61, he'll be filing early (before FRA), which means a permanently reduced benefit. Make sure whoever helps you explains exactly how much the reduction will be and whether it makes financial sense given your overall situation. Sometimes it's better to live off savings for a while rather than lock in a reduced benefit for life, especially if he might find another job soon. This is exactly the kind of nuanced discussion that works better in person.

anybody know if military service counts extra for social security? i heard something about special credits but dont know if thats real

Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! I'm going to try the detailed calculator and also consider whether I might be able to do some part-time work to replace some of those zero years. It sounds like even modest earnings could help improve my benefit calculation significantly. I'm also going to try reaching out directly to SSA to get a more personalized estimate given my specific situation. Really appreciate all the insights!

One important factor many break-even calculators miss is the impact of required minimum distributions (RMDs) from retirement accounts. If you delay Social Security and use retirement account withdrawals to fund early retirement, you'll reduce future RMDs, potentially lowering your tax bracket in your 70s and beyond. Conversely, if you claim early and preserve retirement accounts, your RMDs could be larger, potentially pushing you into higher tax brackets and causing more of your Social Security to be taxable. This tax interaction effect can shift the break-even point by several years, typically making delaying benefits more advantageous than simple calculators suggest.

my neighbor took ss at 62 and invested all of it in bitcoin and now hes rich lol. no calculator shows THAT option!!

The rules for spouse's benefits are unnecessarily complicated! Here's my understanding based on research and my own experience with my husband's SSDI: 1. The spousal benefit is calculated as the DIFFERENCE between your spouse's own benefit and up to 50% of yours (if filing at FRA) 2. If your wife's PIA (full retirement age amount) is $1,200 but she's getting $850 at 62, they'll compare her $1,200 to 50% of your $2,375 ($1,187.50) 3. Since these amounts are so close, she might not get ANY spousal supplement at all 4. BUT... everything gets reduced for early filing, and the reduction factors are different for retirement vs spousal Possible scenarios: a) If her reduced own benefit > reduced spousal: she just gets her own benefit b) If reduced spousal > reduced own benefit: she gets her own benefit PLUS the difference to reach the spousal amount This is definitely worth scheduling an appointment with SSA to get the exact calculation. They can tell you exactly what she'd receive in all scenarios.

my buddy's wife faced this exact situation last year and she ended up just taking her own benefit at 62 and then switching to the spousal benefit at her full retirement age when it wouldn't be reduced anymore. can ur wife do that?