Social Security approval letter missing ex-spouse benefits - Do they come separately?

yes they often do come separately!! I got my own benefit letter first then about 2 weeks later got another letter with the spousal portion. dont worry yet but keep trying to call them to confirm.

This is a common situation with divorced spouse benefits. What typically happens is SSA processes your own retirement benefit first, then they separately calculate and add the excess spousal benefit (the technical term is the "spousal top-up"). The two benefits are administered in different parts of their system, which is why you got the letter for your own benefit first. You should receive the second determination within 30 days. If you don't, you'll want to contact SSA directly. Make sure you have your ex-husband's SSN when you call, as they'll need to verify his record to discuss this aspect of your claim.

The SAME EXACT THING happened to me last year!!! I was TOLD one amount that included my ex's record and then got a letter with ONLY my amount! I freaked out and called and called and nobody could help!!! After SIX WEEKS I finally got another letter with the combined amount. SSA is SO DISORGANIZED it's ridiculous!!! They should tell people this will happen!

I experienced something similar with survivor benefits after my husband passed. First letter showed just my retirement, second letter came about 3 weeks later with the higher combined amount. What confused me was the second letter didn't specifically say it included survivor benefits - it just showed the new higher amount as my "monthly benefit" with a short explanation about qualifying for the higher benefit based on my spouse's record. One thing to know: when you get the combined payment, it will show as one deposit, not separate payments. The monthly benefit statement online will eventually update to show the breakdown.

they mess up all the time too. my sister got the wrong amount for 8 months before they fixed it. keep calling!!

I help people navigate Social Security issues, and this is completely normal. Here's what's happening: 1. Your own retirement benefit (based on your work record) is processed first 2. The divorced spouse benefit requires additional verification steps 3. Once both are approved, you'll receive the higher of either your own benefit or up to 50% of your ex's benefit (if you're at Full Retirement Age) Since you mentioned a "top off," it sounds like your own benefit is higher than half of his, but his record provides some additional amount. This is called the "excess spousal benefit" and is the difference between your benefit and half of his. If you need to reach SSA quickly to confirm this, I'd recommend trying Claimyr (claimyr.com). They have a service that gets you connected to a live SSA agent without the usual hold times. I used it when I had a similar issue with delayed payments. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU

did u apply online or in person? seems like in-person applications get processed faster with fewer issues like this

Just wanted to follow up - did you receive your second letter yet? It's been about a week since your post.