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I think they're changing their policy again. My nephew works at Social Security and he says they're getting new guidance every week about this. Some offices have the updated system and others don't yet. Maybe try a different office?
Quick update for everyone following this thread - the official policy change is outlined in SSA Emergency Message EM-23056, which officially limits recovery of most overpayments to 10% of monthly benefits. However, there are exceptions for fraud cases. The implementation date was March 15, 2025, but as others have noted, the actual rollout has been inconsistent across field offices. If you're getting resistance, specifically mention EM-23056 and request to speak with a Technical Expert or the Office Manager who should be familiar with this directive.
That's not accurate for this situation. Your neighbor may be referring to filing for her own retirement benefits early, which does permanently reduce them. But in the OP's case, they're on SSDI, which doesn't involve an early filing reduction. At FRA, the SSDI converts to retirement at the full rate, and the spousal benefit is recalculated. The current small spousal supplement won't affect the FRA calculation.
Thanks! Yes, I did ok on the sale. It was getting to be too much to maintain by myself after my husband passed.
Just a note - if you had significant capital gains from selling your house last year, that could potentially affect your tax situation for that year specifically. For a single person, up to $250,000 in capital gains from selling a primary residence can be excluded if you lived there at least 2 of the last 5 years.
my friend has same situation and the apartment manager told her she needed some tax form for her rent but it was for low income housing tax credit thing not for normal taxes!!! maybe thats what ur landlord was talking about???
Quick update on HR 82 - there was actually a hearing scheduled for March 2025 in the House Ways and Means Committee. While this doesn't guarantee passage, it's the furthest the bill has progressed in years. Consider joining advocacy groups like the Social Security Fairness Coalition who are organizing virtual lobbying days this spring. Also, regarding your specific situation, if your spouse's benefit increases in the future (like when he turns 70 if he's delayed claiming), your potential spousal benefit would increase too, which might exceed the GPO reduction at some point.
That's the first bit of good news I've heard about HR 82! I'll definitely look into the Social Security Fairness Coalition. And that's a great point about my husband's benefit - he's 66 now and planning to delay until 70, so his benefit will increase. I hadn't considered that might eventually overcome the GPO offset. Thank you!
Has anyone else noticed that the SSA website barely even EXPLAINS GPO properly???? I had to find out about it from my teacher's union, SSA never warned me until it was too late!!!! The whole system is designed to keep us in the dark!!!!
GalacticGuardian
Based on what you've shared, here's a summary that might help you plan: 1. Your SSDI benefits will NOT change after marriage 2. His SSDI benefits will NOT change after marriage 3. His SSI ($110/month) will likely be reduced or eliminated after marriage 4. Any income-based benefits like SNAP, housing assistance, Medicaid, Extra Help for Medicare, etc. will need to be reassessed based on your combined income If losing the $110 in SSI and potentially some adjustments to other benefits is manageable for your budget, you should be in an okay position financially after marriage. I would recommend scheduling an appointment with SSA to get a precise calculation of how your specific benefits would be affected.
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Zara Shah
•Thank you so much for breaking it down like this! This gives us a clear picture of what to expect. I think we can handle losing the small SSI payment, but I'll definitely follow up with SSA to verify everything before we make any decisions. This community has been so helpful!
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Nia Harris
One more tip - after you get married (if you decide to), make sure you both contact Social Security right away to report the change. For the SSDI recipient, it's mostly just updating your name if you change it. For the SSI recipient, they need to report the marriage immediately to avoid overpayments. Those overpayment notices are a nightmare to deal with!
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Mateo Gonzalez
•This is critical advice. SSI recipients must report any change in living arrangement, marital status, or household income within 10 days. SSDI recipients should report name changes, but their benefits aren't affected by marital status (except in certain cases involving disabled adult children benefits, which doesn't seem to apply here).
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