Can my mom qualify for higher SS benefits from dad's record? Current gap: $2800 vs $900 monthly

Yes, your mom might be eligible for higher benefits! As a spouse, she can potentially receive up to 50% of your dad's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Since they're both well past Full Retirement Age (FRA), she should contact SSA to see if she qualifies for a spousal adjustment. Her benefit amount suggests she might have claimed around 62-63, which would have permanently reduced her benefit by about 25-30%. However, the good news is that if her spousal benefit would be higher than her own reduced retirement benefit, SSA will pay the difference as a supplement.

Your mom is getting ROBBED by the system!!! I went through this EXACT same thing with my parents. SSA never bothers to tell people when they qualify for more money - they just let seniors struggle while sitting on their potential benefits. My dad was getting $2500 and my mom only $750 for YEARS before we figured it out. The backpay was a JOKE - only 6 months despite YEARS of underpayment! Tell your mom to demand what she deserves when she calls!!!

This is a classic case where your mother might benefit from what's called a "spousal adjustment." Since your parents are both 76, they've passed their Full Retirement Age (66 for their birth cohort). The SSA should automatically have evaluated her for the higher benefit, but mistakes happen. Here's what I suggest: 1. Verify her current benefit is based solely on her own work record 2. If she filed early at 62, her benefit would be about 75% of her full benefit 3. As a spouse, she's eligible for up to 50% of your father's Primary Insurance Amount (not necessarily his current payment) If her spousal benefit would exceed her current payment, SSA will pay her own benefit plus the difference to reach the higher amount. I recommend calling SSA directly to inquire about this.

wait so if your married you can get your own ss plus your spouses?? i thought you just got whichever was highest?? my wife an i are only 58 so we got time but now im confused

Sometimes with cases like this there are issues with the earnings record too. My aunt had a similar benefit disparity, and it turned out that some of her work history from the 1970s wasn't properly recorded. Might be worth asking SSA to verify your mom's earnings record is complete too while you're at it!

To answer your question about whether this would bring her closer to $1400 - it depends on your dad's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is not the same as his current benefit. PIA is the amount he would receive at exactly his Full Retirement Age, before any increases for delayed filing. If your dad waited until 70 to file, his PIA might be closer to $2200, making her potential spousal benefit around $1100. But yes, in most cases, this would be a significant increase from $900. As for contacting SSA, a scheduled appointment at your local office is usually best for complex benefit adjustments like this. Bring both their IDs, SSNs, and any current benefit verification letters if you have them.

they shoulda signed ur mom up for this automatically! my parents had this exact problem and we found out they were owed like $300 more a month for years! definitely call them and see whats going on

Just to clarify something important - if your mother receives an adjustment, she may be entitled to some retroactive benefits, but it's typically limited to 6 months of back payments. This is standard policy for benefit adjustments, even if the eligibility existed for years. Also, keep in mind that increasing her benefit won't affect your father's payment in any way. One last tip: When you speak with SSA, specifically ask about the "spousal adjustment due to higher PIA of spouse" to ensure the representative understands exactly what you're inquiring about.

I went through something very similar with my grandmother a few years back. She was only getting about $800/month while my grandfather received around $2,400. Turns out she was eligible for spousal benefits that brought her up to about $1,200 monthly - not quite the full 50% because of some timing issues with when she originally filed, but still a significant increase that made a real difference in their daily lives. One thing I learned is that it's worth bringing a printed copy of both their Social Security statements when you go to the appointment. You can create accounts on ssa.gov to access these, or call to have them mailed. Having the paperwork in hand seemed to help the representative understand their situation more quickly and made the whole process smoother. Good luck - it's wonderful that you're advocating for your parents like this!

This is exactly the kind of situation where getting expert help can make a huge difference! I'm a newcomer here but wanted to share that my aunt faced something very similar last year. She was getting around $850 while my uncle received $2,600, and we discovered she was eligible for spousal benefits that increased her monthly payment to about $1,300. One thing that really helped us was keeping detailed notes during our SSA appointment - we wrote down all the benefit amounts, dates, and terminology they used. The representative explained that even though she had filed early at 62, the spousal benefit calculation could still result in a higher total payment than her reduced retirement benefit alone. I'd also suggest asking specifically about whether your mom's benefit is already including any spousal adjustment or if it's purely based on her own work record. Sometimes the SSA systems do make automatic adjustments, but it's not always clear from the payment amount alone. Best of luck with this - your parents are lucky to have you looking out for them!

As someone new to this community, I wanted to share what happened with my parents in a very similar situation. My mom was getting only $950/month while dad received $2,750, and we had no idea she might qualify for more until a neighbor mentioned spousal benefits. When we finally contacted SSA, it turned out she was eligible for an additional $400+ monthly through spousal benefits - bringing her total to about $1,350. The process took about 6 weeks from our initial call to seeing the increased payment, and she did receive some retroactive payments for the previous few months. One thing that really helped was calling early in the morning (around 8 AM) when wait times seemed shorter. Also, having both parents' Social Security numbers, birth dates, and marriage certificate date ready made the conversation go much smoother. The representative was actually very helpful once we got through and explained everything clearly. Your parents' 55-year marriage definitely qualifies them, and with that income gap, your mom almost certainly has money coming to her. Don't let this sit - every month of delay is money they're missing out on. Good luck!

Welcome to the community! I'm new here too and wanted to add my perspective since my family dealt with almost the exact same situation recently. My mom was receiving about $850 monthly while my dad got $2,900, and we had no clue about spousal benefits until someone at their church mentioned it. When we finally contacted SSA, we learned that my mom was entitled to receive up to 50% of my dad's Primary Insurance Amount, which ended up increasing her monthly benefit to around $1,450. The key thing we discovered is that even though she had filed early at 62 (which reduced her own retirement benefit), the spousal benefit calculation could still result in a higher total payment. The process wasn't too complicated once we got started. We scheduled an appointment at our local SSA office, brought their marriage certificate, both Social Security cards, and recent benefit statements. The representative was able to process the adjustment within about 3 weeks, and mom received retroactive payments for the previous 6 months. One tip that really helped us: ask the representative to explain the difference between your mom's current benefit and what her spousal benefit would be, so you understand exactly how much the increase will be. With your parents' income gap and long marriage, I'd be very surprised if your mom isn't entitled to significantly more than $900 monthly. Hope this helps!

Hi there! I'm new to this community but wanted to share what we discovered with my grandparents in a very similar situation. My grandmother was only receiving about $920 monthly while my grandfather got $2,650, and it took us way too long to realize she might be eligible for more. When we finally contacted SSA, we learned that despite her filing early at age 62, she was still entitled to spousal benefits that brought her total monthly payment up to around $1,325 - a significant increase that really helped with their monthly expenses. The whole process took about 4-5 weeks from our initial appointment to seeing the increased payments. A couple of practical tips that made our experience smoother: First, we found that scheduling an in-person appointment worked better than trying to handle this over the phone. Second, we brought copies of both their Social Security statements (which you can print from ssa.gov), their marriage certificate, and recent benefit letters. Having all the paperwork ready seemed to speed things up considerably. One thing that surprised us was that my grandmother received retroactive payments for several months, which was a nice unexpected bonus. The SSA representative explained that even though she had claimed early, the spousal benefit calculation could still result in a higher overall payment than her reduced retirement benefit alone. With your parents' 55-year marriage and that income gap, I'd be very surprised if your mom isn't entitled to a significant increase. Don't wait on this - every month of delay means money they're missing out on. Best of luck with the process!