I'm in a similar situation as a new teacher who's been considering a second job. After reading all these responses, I'm realizing I need to be much more strategic about this. The key insight seems to be that $31,275 "substantial earnings" threshold - if you can't hit that consistently, the WEP reduction might make the extra work not worth it financially. Have you considered maybe working more hours at your retail job to try to reach that threshold? Or maybe finding a higher-paying weekend job? It might be worth running the numbers to see if you could earn enough to make those years count as "substantial" - that seems to be the real game-changer for WEP calculations.

I'm just starting my teaching career and this thread has been incredibly eye-opening about WEP! I had no idea about the substantial earnings threshold or how it could impact future benefits. @Connor O'Reilly makes a great point about modeling different scenarios with the SSA calculator. For those of us early in our careers, it seems like we have a choice: either commit to consistently hitting that $31,275 threshold in our second jobs (which means serious hours), or focus on maximizing our 457(b) contributions and teacher's pension instead. The Medicare qualification angle that @Fatima Al-Farsi mentioned is also crucial - even if WEP reduces our SS benefits, having those 40 quarters for Medicare eligibility is huge. Has anyone here actually succeeded in getting 30+ years of substantial earnings while teaching full-time? I'm curious if it's realistic or if we should just plan around the WEP reduction from the start.

I'm going through something very similar with my mom's situation right now. She's been widowed for about 6 months, and when we were preparing for the survivor benefits application, we noticed the same kind of discrepancy on dad's old SSA statement - it showed about $400 less than what he was actually receiving. When mom applied, the SSA representative explained that those survivor benefit projections on the statements are often based on older data and don't always reflect the most current benefit amounts, especially if there have been recent cost-of-living adjustments or if delayed retirement credits were earned. The good news is that mom ended up receiving dad's full monthly amount, just like what others have shared here. The representative told us that surviving spouses at FRA are entitled to 100% of what the deceased spouse was actually receiving at the time of death, not what some outdated projection shows. I'd definitely recommend calling SSA or visiting a local office to get a current, accurate projection. Don't let that statement number worry you too much - from what I've learned, the actual survivor benefit process uses the real payment amounts, not those potentially outdated projections.

This is such a common concern and you're absolutely right to question that discrepancy! From what I've learned through my own research and talking with SSA representatives, those survivor benefit amounts on the statements are often calculated using older formulas or data that don't reflect current reality. Since your husband waited until 70 to claim his benefits, he earned delayed retirement credits that increased his monthly payment by 32% over his full retirement age amount. These credits should carry over to your survivor benefit, meaning you should receive his full $3,600 monthly amount, not the $3,000 shown on the statement. The statement projections seem to be particularly unreliable when it comes to benefits that include delayed retirement credits or recent cost-of-living adjustments. I'd suggest calling SSA and asking specifically about survivor benefits when delayed retirement credits are involved - they should be able to give you a more accurate projection based on his current benefit amount. You're in a good position having been married for 47 years and being past FRA yourself. Don't let that statement number worry you too much!

I'm also new to this community and currently in the waiting phase myself - filed my application about 4 weeks ago and have been checking my MySocialSecurity account obsessively! Reading through all these experiences has been incredibly helpful and reassuring. What really stands out to me is how consistent everyone's timelines are - seems like that 6-8 week range is pretty standard across the board. I had no idea about all the verification steps happening behind the scenes, so thank you to everyone who explained that process! I'm definitely going to adopt some of the strategies mentioned here, like checking my account just once daily instead of multiple times, and maybe starting that call log that someone suggested. It's also comforting to know that the benefits are calculated from the filing date rather than approval date - takes some of the pressure off. For anyone else in the waiting phase, this thread has shown me that we're all going through the same anxiety and uncertainty, but it really does seem to work out in the end. Thanks to this community for sharing such valuable real-world experiences!

As someone who's new to this community and about to start my own Social Security application journey, this entire thread has been absolutely invaluable! I'm planning to file my retirement application next month and had no idea what to expect in terms of processing times or what happens behind the scenes. Reading everyone's experiences - from 6-week waits to 8+ weeks, and learning about all the verification steps that happen during "processing" - has really helped set realistic expectations. The anxiety so many of you described about checking MySocialSecurity accounts obsessively and worrying when you only see "processing" status really resonates with what I imagine I'll be feeling soon! I'm definitely taking notes on all the great advice here: check the account once daily (not obsessively), keep a log of any calls made to SSA, remember that benefits are backdated to filing date, and that 6-8 weeks is completely normal especially during busy periods. The retired SSA specialist's explanation of the verification process was particularly enlightening. Thank you to everyone who shared their timelines and experiences - it's so helpful to hear real stories from people who've actually been through this process recently. This community seems like such a supportive resource for navigating these government processes!

I work for the Railroad Retirement Board and can confirm that yes, the WEP reform legislation absolutely applies to Railroad Retirement Tier 2 benefits. Your husband's situation is very common - we see this all the time with railroad workers who also had other employment where they paid into Social Security. The $490/month reduction is unfortunately typical for someone with his work history. The good news is that with 17 years of substantial SS earnings, the new proportional formula should provide meaningful relief. The old WEP was brutal because it essentially ignored those 17 years of SS contributions when calculating benefits. A few things to keep in mind: - The RRB and SSA will need to coordinate on these recalculations since we handle Tier 2 benefits - Make sure his earnings record with both agencies is accurate - every year of substantial earnings matters now - The implementation timeline is ambitious, but both agencies are committed to getting this right I'd recommend keeping his current benefit statements from both RRB and SSA for comparison when the new calculations come through. This has been a long-awaited fix for the railroad community!

I'm so glad to see this discussion! My situation is very similar - my spouse worked for CSX Transportation for 20 years and also had other jobs totaling about 15 years of Social Security contributions. We were devastated when we found out about the WEP reduction last year - nobody had warned us this would happen! Reading through all these responses gives me hope that the new legislation will actually help us. The $400+ monthly reduction hit our retirement budget hard, and we've been struggling to understand if there was anything we could do about it. @Charity Cohan - thank you so much for the insider perspective from RRB! It's incredibly helpful to know that this coordination between agencies is normal and that there's real commitment to implementing these changes properly. For anyone else dealing with this, I've found that keeping detailed records of everything has been crucial. We have copies of all the original benefit calculations, WEP notices, and correspondence. When these recalculations happen, having that paper trail will probably be really valuable. Has anyone heard anything about whether there might be retroactive payments once the new formula is implemented? That's something we're really hoping for but haven't been able to get a clear answer on.

I'm going through this exact same nightmare right now! Filed my retirement application 9 weeks ago and still stuck on "pending" status. I also have government employment history - worked for the state department of transportation for about 7 years in the 90s - so that's probably why mine is taking forever too. The most frustrating part is how completely useless the SSA phone system is. I've tried calling probably 15 times and either get disconnected or sit on hold for literally hours before giving up. I actually tried that Claimyr service someone mentioned and it was a lifesaver - got through to a real person in about 25 minutes and they confirmed my application was in manual review because of the government employment. At least now I know it's not lost! The agent said to expect another 3-4 weeks minimum. It's insane that we have to pay a third-party service just to get basic information about our own applications. I'm definitely contacting my congressional representative next week if I don't hear anything. This whole system is completely broken and the SSA website needs to stop lying about those 4-6 week timelines!

I'm in the exact same situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! I submitted my retirement application 6 weeks ago and have been getting increasingly worried about the "pending" status with no updates. Like many others here, I also worked for a local government agency (the county assessor's office) for about 4 years in my early career, so now I understand why my application is probably taking longer. The SSA website's 4-6 week estimate is completely misleading and causing unnecessary stress for people trying to plan their retirements. I've been hesitant to try calling because of all the horror stories about hold times, but after reading about the 7am strategy and the Claimyr service, I'm going to give both a try this week. It's frustrating that we have to jump through so many hoops just to get basic information about our own applications, but at least knowing these delays are unfortunately normal helps reduce some of the anxiety. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences and tips - this community support makes the waiting much more bearable!