Best way to apply for Social Security retirement and ex-spouse benefits - online vs. phone vs. in-person?

I just went through this exact situation four months ago! Personally, I found that doing it by phone was the best option. The rep was able to walk me through all the details about applying on my own record plus my ex's. There were a few questions about our marriage dates that I wouldn't have known were important if I'd done it online by myself. Make sure you have these documents ready before your call: - Your birth certificate (or passport) - Marriage certificate - Divorce decree - Your ex's SSN if you have it (but they can find it if you don't) - Your bank account info for direct deposit The phone appointment was worth the wait in my case because the rep caught that I was eligible for more on my ex's record than I realized.

online is TERRIBLE!!! I tried doing mine online and the system kept timing out. wasted 3 hours and had to start all over again twice. ended up having to go to the office anyway. especialy with ex spouse stuff the online system gets confusing!!

For straightforward retirement claims, online works fine. But for anything involving divorced spouse benefits, I'd strongly recommend either phone or in-person. These claims have specific requirements (like proving the marriage lasted at least 10 years) that are handled better with an actual representative. A couple of important points: 1) You don't need your ex's permission or involvement to claim on their record 2) You're eligible for either 50% of their FRA benefit or 100% of your own, whichever is higher (not both) 3) If you've reached your FRA (67), there are no reductions for working while collecting In my experience, the in-person appointment tends to be more efficient because you can bring all your documents and have them scanned right there. However, if the office is 30 miles away, phone might be more convenient despite the wait.

My sister tried doing this online last year and ended up with a HUGE headache because she put something wrong about the divorce date. Took her almost 4 months to sort it out! I'd definitely go in person if I were you.

I did mine in person at the local office. Had to wait about 2 hours but the lady who helped me was so nice and made sure everything was entered correctly. For the divorced spouse benefit they need to verify the marriage lasted 10+ years so bring divorce papers!

To answer your question from earlier - you'd receive your own $1,900 benefit in that scenario. The ex-spouse benefit only helps if 50% of their FRA amount is higher than 100% of your own benefit. For example, if your benefit is $1,900 and your ex-spouse's FRA benefit is $4,000, then you could get $2,000 (50% of their amount). But if your ex's FRA benefit is, say, $3,400 or less, you'd just get your own $1,900.

To answer your question about documents - they don't need to physically see them during the phone call, but they'll ask for details from them (dates, etc). If you can't find your marriage certificate, you might need to order a new one from the county where you got married before your benefits can be finalized. However, they can usually start the application process without it. And regarding your ex's benefit amount - SSA has all that information in their system. You just need to provide his name, SSN if you have it, and the marriage/divorce dates. They'll calculate everything for you.

if you do phone route get ready to be on hold FOREVER! i called last month and waited 2.5 hours just to talk to someone!! and then got disconnected and had to start over the next day 😡

Have you tried using Claimyr? It's this service that basically waits on hold with SSA for you and then calls you when they get a representative. I used it last month when I needed to talk to someone about my Medicare enrollment and it saved me hours of holding time. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Might be worth it instead of waiting 3 weeks for a scheduled call or driving all that way to the office.

i tried applying online and got sooooo confused about the ex-spouse section! kept asking me for his earnings record which i obviously don't have access to!!! ended up having to go in person anyway which was a huge hassle with parking and waiting forever

Based on everything I've experienced and heard from others, here's what I'd recommend for your situation: 1) If you want it done fastest and most accurately: Use a service like Claimyr to get through to SSA by phone quickly, then request they mail you a protective filing date letter immediately. This preserves your filing date even if documentation takes longer. 2) Then schedule an in-person appointment and bring all your documents (birth certificate, divorce decree, etc). Having that protective filing date already established takes the pressure off. The key with ex-spouse benefits is making sure they have all the documentation to verify the marriage duration. The 10-year marriage requirement is strictly enforced for divorced spouse benefits.

my cousin works for SSA and she always says the ex-spouse claims are among the most complicated for people to do online by themselves! definitely get help with that part

I'm currently going through the exact same process - turning 67 next month and planning to file for both my own retirement benefits and divorced spouse benefits. After reading all these responses, I'm definitely leaning toward the phone route now, especially after learning about services like Claimyr that can help avoid the long hold times. One thing I wanted to add that might be helpful - I called SSA last week just to ask some preliminary questions, and the representative mentioned that they can actually do a "benefit estimate" over the phone to help you understand what you'd receive from each option before you formally apply. This might be worth doing first so you know whether the divorced spouse benefit would actually increase your monthly payment. Also, regarding the marriage certificate - I was in the same boat and couldn't find mine after 20+ years. I was able to order a certified copy online from the county clerk's office where we got married for about $15, and it arrived in less than a week. Much easier than I expected! Good luck with your application process!

I'm in a very similar situation - just turned 67 last month and was married to my ex-husband for 15 years. After reading through all these responses, I decided to go with the phone route and it worked out really well! A few things that might help you: 1) I used Claimyr to avoid the hold time - totally worth the small fee! Got connected to an SSA rep in about 20 minutes instead of waiting hours. 2) The rep was able to do a quick benefit estimate right on the call. Turns out my ex's benefit was high enough that I'll get about $200 more per month than just my own benefit alone. 3) They started my application over the phone and gave me a protective filing date, then mailed me forms to complete and return with my documents. This felt much less stressful than trying to do everything online. 4) The rep specifically told me that divorced spouse benefits are one of the most error-prone applications when done online because people often misunderstand the questions or enter dates incorrectly. One tip - even if you don't have your ex's SSN, they can still process your claim. I only had his name and approximate birth year, and they found his record just fine. The whole process took about 45 minutes on the phone and now I'm just waiting for my first payment next month. Much smoother than I expected!