You CANNOT collect when you're over the earnings limit, period! The SSA rep gave you WRONG info! My cousin tried to do this and they made her PAY BACK $7,000!!! Wait until January!!!

Based on all the advice you've received, here's a summary of your best path forward: 1. Wait until January 2026 to apply for survivor benefits (you'll be 60.5 by then) 2. Let your own retirement benefit grow until age 70 3. Switch to your own higher benefit at age 70 Also, don't forget that you may be eligible for a one-time death benefit of $255, and if you have any children under 18 or disabled adult children, they might qualify for benefits too. When you do apply, bring your marriage certificate, husband's death certificate, both your Social Security cards, and your birth certificate. You'll save time if you have all documents ready.

After reading all these replies I'm confused now... seems like some people had to provide all documentation and others didn't? Is it just random whether they ask for everything or not?

Thank you all so much for sharing your experiences and knowledge! Based on your advice, I'm going to: 1. Make sure I have all the basic documents ready (our marriage certificate, his death certificate, my ID, etc.) 2. Write down all the dates and locations of previous marriages for both of us 3. Try to locate my own divorce decree just in case 4. Not stress too much about his old divorce papers unless they specifically ask for them I feel so much better prepared now. This community has been incredibly helpful!

WAIT - just becoming a representative won't automatically solve the tax form issue. Those 1099-SSA forms and access to her earnings record requires specific authorization. Make sure box 7

Thank you for this specific detail! This is exactly the kind of thing I would have missed and then been frustrated about later. I'll make sure that box is checked and those exact words are included!

To address your follow-up questions: 1. Your teacher's aide pension wouldn't affect the grandchildren's benefits. GPO (Government Pension Offset) and WEP (Windfall Elimination Provision) only affect your own benefits, not dependent or survivor benefits for others. 2. The adoption process timeline varies by state, but typically takes 3-6 months. SSA benefits can be paid retroactively up to 6 months from when you apply after the adoption is finalized. 3. Given that you had custody and your husband was supporting the children before his death (with tax returns as proof), and his PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) would have been around $2,400, this is absolutely worth pursuing. Each child could potentially receive up to $1,800 monthly combined (subject to family maximum). I'd recommend: 1. Contact legal aid as suggested 2. Gather documentation showing the children were dependent on you and your husband 3. Start the adoption process 4. Apply for benefits immediately after adoption is finalized

just make sure you have all your paperwork in order!!! my friend said SSA required birth certificates school records medical records custody papers proof parents weren't supporting them it was a HUGE hassle

wait i'm confused about something - doesn't the montly earnings test only apply AFTER you retire? so if you retired in june, then the monthly test would only apply to july-december, and jan-june would use the annual test? that would explain why vacation pay from jan-may counts, because those months use the annual test not the montly test. This whole system is SO confusing!!

This exactly why im waiting until my FRA to file! Too many gotchas with the earnings test. My neighbor had to pay back almost $7000 because her employer paid out a bonus in January that was earned the previous year. The whole system seems designed to trip people up.

To answer your specific question about "topping off" - that term usually refers to the situation where you're eligible for your own retirement benefit AND a spousal benefit. In those cases, SS pays your own benefit first, then "tops it off" with additional spousal benefits if 50% of your spouse's benefit is higher than your own benefit. So yes, that concept would apply to your situation, but not until you reach age 62 at the earliest. And as others have mentioned, taking spousal benefits at 62 instead of waiting until your Full Retirement Age (probably 67 for you) would result in a permanent reduction to about 32.5% of your husband's benefit instead of the full 50%.

the whole system is a mess tbh. my neighbors husband has parkinsons and she had to keep working till 62 even tho she needed to care for him. and when she finally got benefits they were way less than she expected cuz she took them early. don't count on getting much from social security

I was in your sister's exact situation! I was on SSDI, and when I hit FRA last year, I had an ex I was married to for 15 years. I spent HOURS researching this. The final answer is that she's already receiving her retirement benefit (SSDI is just early retirement for disability). At FRA, the benefit simply converts to retirement, but the amount stays the same. For the ex-spouse benefit: She CAN apply for that at FRA, but SSA will only give her the higher of the two amounts. Because of her birthdate, she can't get both or switch between them. I was super disappointed because I thought I had found a clever loophole! My suggestion: Have her create a my Social Security account online and look at her estimated benefit. Then try to find out her ex's benefit amount (this is the hard part) to compare the two. SSA can sometimes provide the ex's info for benefit calculation purposes.

Thank you all for the helpful responses! I've learned so much. To summarize what I understand now: Since my sister was born after 1954, when her SSDI converts to retirement at 67, she has to choose either her own benefit OR 50% of her ex's (whichever is higher) - she can't do one then switch to the other. I'll help her set up a my Social Security account to see her projected benefit amount and then we'll try to figure out what her ex might be receiving to compare. I appreciate everyone taking the time to explain this complicated situation!

One last consideration: if you do take early retirement and then your mom's situation changes and you want to return to full-time work, you'll face the earnings limit until you reach your FRA. For 2025, if you earn over $59,520 in the year you reach FRA (but before the month you reach FRA), SSA withholds $1 for every $3 over the limit.It's a complex decision with many variables. If your mom needs care for just a year or two, it might be better to look for alternative caregiving solutions. If this is likely a long-term arrangement until you reach Medicare age, the financial trade-offs of early SS might make more sense.

I appreciate all this information. I think I need to speak directly with SSA to get calculations specific to my situation, and also explore more caregiving options for Mom. The permanent reduction in benefits is making me reconsider if there might be better alternatives.

I remember my neighbor was telling me his dad hit 70 and was getting the run around from SS. Tried to reach them for MONTHS and couldn't get through. Finally just went to the office but had to wait 4 hours!!!! Make sure u apply early cuz even when u get it right they can take forever to process!!!!!

One thing nobody has mentioned - make sure you check if you're eligible for 6 months of retroactive benefits after reaching FRA (Full Retirement Age). But be careful - this ONLY applies if you're past your FRA but haven't yet filed. At age 70, you could potentially get up to 6 months of retroactive benefits, but they would be at a slightly reduced rate compared to the age 70 amount. In your specific case, I would NOT recommend taking retroactive benefits since you've waited until 70 to maximize your benefit amount. Filing with July as your benefit month is the optimal choice.

I'd recommend applying online - it's much faster and you can save your progress if you need to gather more information. Given your proximity to retirement age, your case might be processed more quickly than younger applicants. One important thing to know: since you're 64, if you're approved for SSDI, you'll automatically be converted to retirement benefits at your Full Retirement Age (likely 66 and some months for your birth year). The benefit amount stays the same, but SSDI has certain advantages like Medicare eligibility after 24 months regardless of age. Also, since you had high earnings, your SSDI benefit will likely be close to your maximum retirement benefit. The 2025 maximum SSDI payment is around $3,750 per month for someone with your earnings history.

Thank you all so much for the great advice. I'm going to apply online tomorrow and make sure I'm clear about my work history and when I stopped working. I'll bring both my medical records from 2016 and my detailed employment history to make sure everything is documented properly. I'm also glad to know about the SSDI converting to retirement benefits at my FRA. I was getting confused about how those two programs interact. I'll update this thread once I've submitted my application in case it helps someone else in a similar situation!