Yes, you should definitely inform the day program about the change from SSI to DAC benefits. Some Medicaid-funded programs have different eligibility rules for SSI recipients vs other benefit types. The good news is that most states have provisions to continue Medicaid eligibility for people who were on SSI and switched to DAC (sometimes called the

I have a 35 year old disabled daughter that currently receives SSDI, Medicare and Medicaid. Her SSDI payments are based on her own work record, since she has worked apprx 10-15 hours a week at a local grocery store. SSD1 was awarded based on a at birth disability. I have retired and it may be more advantagous to transistion her to DAC. I understand that if she is awarded DAC and subsequently gets married to a non DAC receipt, she would lose DAC payments. Would she also lose

One last important point about the earnings test: Once you reach your Full Retirement Age (FRA), the earnings test no longer applies. So this is only a temporary concern until you reach your FRA, at which point you can earn unlimited income without any reduction in benefits. And any benefits withheld due to the earnings test before FRA will result in a small permanent increase to your monthly benefit once you reach FRA.

Just wanted to add one more tip from my experience - when you do apply, make sure to keep detailed records of your monthly earnings after retirement. SSA may ask for verification later, and having pay stubs or other documentation ready can save you a lot of headaches. Also, if you're planning any freelance or contract work after retiring, be extra careful about how payments are structured. Sometimes payments for work done before retirement but paid after can still count toward your earnings in the month received. I learned this the hard way when a client paid me in August for work I completed in May - it still counted as August earnings even though the work was done months earlier!

Thank you all for your insights! I feel much better understanding that this is just a projection and not set in stone. I'm going to focus on trying to increase my income in these final working years and possibly consider working until 68 instead of 67 to help offset this down year. I'll also look into getting a proper analysis done of my claiming strategy to see if waiting until 70 makes sense in my situation. Really appreciate all the detailed explanations about how the calculations work - the SSA should explain this more clearly on their statements!

Great advice from everyone here! As someone who went through a similar situation a few years ago, I wanted to add that you might also want to consider looking at your complete earnings history on the SSA website to see exactly which years are currently being used in your calculation. Since you mentioned you're 61, you likely have more than 35 years of earnings already recorded. Sometimes a low-income year will replace a zero-income year in the calculation (which actually helps), but other times it might replace a higher-earning year from earlier in your career (which hurts). Understanding exactly what's happening in your specific case can help you decide whether it's worth pushing yourself to earn more in the next few years or if you're better off focusing on your claiming strategy instead. The real estate market is definitely cyclical - I've seen colleagues have their worst year followed by their best year. Don't let one tough year derail your entire retirement plan!

I heard there's some kinda special rule if ur a federal employee or teacher too??

Just wanted to chime in as someone who went through this exact worry! I got married at 67 and was terrified my benefits would change. They didn't - not one penny. My $1,200/month stayed exactly the same. The SSA rep I finally reached (after many tries!) explained it perfectly: your OWN retirement benefits based on YOUR work record are completely separate from marriage. They're yours no matter what. The only time marriage affects things is with survivor benefits, spousal benefits, or SSI. Since you earned those benefits through your own work history, marriage actually opens up MORE potential benefits (like spousal benefits if your partner has higher SS). Don't let fear of losing benefits stop you from happiness - that's exactly what I almost did and I'm so glad I didn't!

the appointment thing is totally normal. my wife and I went through this last year. they need info from both of you because they're checking his records too. just make sure you both answer the phone when they call!

I went through something very similar when I applied for benefits last year! The deemed filing rule definitely applies to your situation, but SSA's processing can be frustratingly slow and disjointed. What you're experiencing is unfortunately pretty common - they process your own retirement benefit first, then handle the spousal component separately even though you filed for both under deemed filing. The fact that they scheduled separate appointments for both you and your husband is actually a good sign - it means they're actively working on processing your spousal benefits. They need to verify information from both of your records before they can calculate and add the spousal excess to your monthly payment. A few tips from my experience: 1) Keep all your confirmation emails for the appointments, 2) Have your marriage certificate handy if they ask for it, and 3) Don't be surprised if the process takes a few more weeks even after the appointments. The good news is that once everything is processed, you'll get backpay to your original filing date for the spousal portion. Your calculation sounds right - with your husband's higher benefit amount, you should definitely qualify for spousal excess even with the early filing reduction. Hang in there, it will get sorted out!