Social Security auxiliary benefits approved by phone but no letter or deposit after 2 weeks - normal or problem?

Two weeks is still within normal processing time for auxiliary benefits. The SSA rep might have been a bit optimistic with the timeline. In my experience working with clients, approval letters for auxiliary benefits often take 2-4 weeks to arrive, and the first payment might come 1-2 weeks after that. The online portal isn't always updated immediately for auxiliary claims - it's primarily designed to show your own benefits, not dependents. I'd give it another week before getting too concerned.

same thing happened with my daughters benefits!!! took almost a MONTH for anything to show up after they told me it was approved. SSA is soooo slow with everything. the rep told me 'a week' too and i was freaking out by week 3. hang in there

The Social Security Administration is TERRIBLE with timelines. They told me 7-10 days for my widow benefits paperwork and it took 6 WEEKS! Then they backdated it but I had to scramble for bills. Their phone system is even worse - I called 31 times over 3 days trying to check status. If you need to actually reach them, try Claimyr.com - it got me through to a real person in about 20 minutes instead of calling for days. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - seriously saved my sanity during the whole process.

What type of auxiliary benefits are we talking about? This matters because processing times vary. Child benefits tend to process faster than spousal. Also, was this a new application or a conversion from one benefit type to another? Did they say they were doing any additional verification? These details affect timeline expectations.

dont stress, my daughters check came like 3.5 weeks after they said approved. but watch out they might backdate it so you could actually get a bigger first payment! the letter came like 2 days before the money hit my direct deposit

I'm going through almost the EXACT same situation right now with benefits for my disabled daughter! They approved over the phone on July 2nd and said "you'll get the letter next week" and here we are on July 18th with NOTHING. No letter, no payment, no update online. I've called FIVE TIMES and keep getting different answers about the status. One rep said it's "in processing" and another said it was "approved but waiting for payment authorization" whatever that means!? The system is completely broken and they don't care how many people they stress out or put in financial hardship. I'm sorry you're dealing with this too.

Just to follow up on the earlier questions - for child benefits on a straightforward case, I'd definitely give it the full 4 weeks before getting too concerned. One thing to check: did you provide direct deposit information during your call? If not, they might be sending a paper check which adds time. Also, when they said "approved," they might have meant "I've entered all the information and it looks approvable" rather than "final approval complete." There are often multiple processing steps that happen after your conversation with the claims rep.

My sister works for SSA and says their internal systems are a MESS right now. They're migrating some old computer system and lots of approvals are getting stuck in a processing backlog. Don't stress yet!

Quick update - I just wanted to add that when I finally did reach someone at Social Security, they told me my claim had been "stuck in the system" and needed manual intervention to process. If you don't see anything by week 3, definitely call them. The squeaky wheel gets the grease with SSA. Their backlog is massive.

i waited it out cause i hate calling them but mayb calling is better, my friend said somtimes they forget to hit some button in there system and it just sits there until someone checks?? idk if thats true

Update from the original poster would be helpful. Has there been any change in status? For others reading this thread, auxiliary benefits for children under a parent's record typically take 2-4 weeks for processing, but can take up to 6 weeks during high-volume periods. The SSA's published standard is 21 business days, but they rarely meet that timeline in practice.

I'm a newcomer here but going through something very similar! Just had my phone interview for my son's benefits last week and they told me it was approved with a monthly amount of $892. The rep said "everything looks good, you'll get your letter in 7-10 days" but reading all these responses is making me realize I should probably expect to wait longer. It's so stressful when you're counting on that money and they give you timelines that seem way too optimistic. Thank you Eva for posting this - it's really helpful to see I'm not the only one dealing with this uncertainty. Hope you get your approval letter soon!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share my experience since I just went through this exact situation a few months ago! My daughter's auxiliary benefits were "approved" over the phone and I was told to expect everything within 10 days. It ended up taking 5 weeks total before I got the official letter, and then another week for the first payment to hit my account. The most frustrating part was that when I called to check status around week 3, the first rep told me there was no record of my application - nearly gave me a heart attack! But the second rep I spoke to found it and said it was just "pending final review." Turns out this is totally normal according to what I've learned. The phone reps are great but they sometimes get ahead of themselves with the approval language. Hang in there Eva - based on everyone's experiences here, you're still well within the normal timeframe even though it feels like forever when you're waiting!

I'm new to this community but currently going through the exact same situation! Had my phone appointment for my daughter's auxiliary benefits three weeks ago and was told it was "fully approved" with a monthly amount of $1,150. The rep was so confident and said we'd see the letter "within 5-7 business days" and the first payment shortly after. Here we are at day 21 with absolutely nothing - no letter, no payment, and my online account shows zero updates. Reading through all these responses is honestly such a relief because I was starting to think something went seriously wrong with our case. It's incredibly frustrating how they give these optimistic timelines that seem to rarely match reality. Eva, I really hope both of us get our approval letters soon - the financial stress of waiting when you're counting on that income is no joke. Thank you for starting this thread, it's been so helpful to see everyone's experiences!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately dealing with almost the identical situation! Had my phone appointment for my son's auxiliary benefits about 10 days ago and the rep told me it was approved for $1,180 monthly. She said the approval letter would arrive "within a week" and the first payment would follow shortly after. So far nothing has arrived and my online account shows no updates either. Reading through everyone's experiences here is honestly such a relief - I was starting to worry that something had gone wrong with our application. It's really frustrating how they consistently give these overly optimistic timelines that don't match reality. Based on what everyone has shared, it sounds like I should prepare for the 3-4 week timeline instead of the one week they promised. Eva, I hope you get your letter and payment soon - the waiting is incredibly stressful when you're counting on that income! Thank you for starting this discussion, it's been so helpful to see that these delays are unfortunately normal.

I'm new to this community but going through the exact same situation! My phone appointment for my daughter's auxiliary benefits was 18 days ago and I was told it was approved for $1,320 monthly. The rep said I'd get the letter "within 10 business days" but here we are with nothing - no letter, no deposit, no online updates. Reading through all these responses has been such a relief because I was genuinely starting to panic that something went wrong. It's really eye-opening how consistently SSA seems to give these overly optimistic timelines that rarely match reality. Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like 3-5 weeks is much more realistic than the 1-2 weeks they promise. Eva, I really hope you get your approval letter soon - the financial stress of waiting when you're counting on that money is no joke. Thanks for starting this thread, it's been incredibly helpful to see that these delays are unfortunately the norm rather than the exception!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately experiencing the exact same situation! Had my phone appointment for my son's auxiliary benefits 12 days ago and was told it was approved for $1,095 monthly. The rep was very confident and said the approval letter would arrive "within 7-10 days" and the first payment would follow shortly after. So far absolutely nothing has arrived - no letter, no payment, and my online account shows zero updates about the auxiliary benefits. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring because I was starting to genuinely worry that something had gone wrong with our application. It's really frustrating how consistently SSA seems to give these overly optimistic timelines that rarely match the reality of their processing times. Based on all the shared experiences in this thread, it's clear that 3-4 weeks (or sometimes longer) is much more realistic than the 1-2 weeks they promise during phone calls. Eva, I really hope you get your approval letter and payment soon - the financial stress of waiting when you're counting on that income is absolutely nerve-wracking. Thank you so much for starting this discussion, it's been invaluable to see that these delays are unfortunately normal rather than an exception!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately going through almost the identical situation! Had my phone appointment for my daughter's auxiliary benefits 16 days ago and was told it was approved for $1,240 monthly. The rep seemed so certain and said we'd receive the approval letter "within one week" and the first payment would arrive shortly after that. Here we are over two weeks later with absolutely nothing - no letter in the mail, no deposit, and my online Social Security account shows zero updates about any auxiliary benefits. Reading through all these responses has been such a huge relief because I was genuinely starting to panic that something had gone seriously wrong with our case. It's really eye-opening and honestly quite frustrating to see how consistently SSA gives these overly optimistic timelines that seem to rarely match the actual processing reality. Based on everyone's shared experiences here, it's becoming clear that 3-5 weeks is much more realistic than the 1 week promise they made during my call. Eva, I really hope you get your approval letter and first payment soon - the financial stress of waiting when you're budgeting around that expected income is absolutely nerve-wracking. Thank you so much for starting this thread, it's been incredibly valuable to see that these delays are unfortunately the norm rather than something unique to our individual cases!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately experiencing something very similar! Had my phone appointment for my son's auxiliary benefits 9 days ago and the rep told me it was approved for $967 monthly. She was very confident and said the approval letter would arrive "within 5-7 business days" with the first payment following soon after. So far nothing has shown up - no letter, no payment, and my online account has zero updates. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring because I was starting to worry something went wrong with our application. It's really frustrating how SSA consistently gives these optimistic timelines that don't seem to match reality. Based on all the shared experiences in this thread, it's clear I should prepare for the 3-4 week timeline instead of the week they promised. Eva, I hope you get your letter and payment soon - the waiting is so stressful when you're counting on that income! Thank you for starting this discussion, it's been so helpful to see these delays are normal.

I'm new to this community but unfortunately going through the exact same situation! Had my phone appointment for my daughter's auxiliary benefits 8 days ago and was told it was approved for $1,156 monthly. The rep was so confident and said we'd get the approval letter "within one week" and the first payment would follow shortly after. So far absolutely nothing - no letter, no payment, and my online account shows zero updates. Reading through all these responses has been incredibly helpful and reassuring because I was genuinely starting to worry that something had gone wrong with our application. It's really eye-opening to see how consistently SSA gives these overly optimistic timelines that rarely match reality. Based on everyone's experiences here, it sounds like I should prepare for the 3-4 week timeline instead of the one week they promised. Eva, I hope you get your letter and payment soon - the waiting is so stressful when you're counting on that income for planning purposes! Thank you for starting this thread, it's been invaluable to see that these processing delays are unfortunately the norm rather than an exception.

I'm new to this community but unfortunately experiencing a very similar situation! Had my phone appointment for my son's auxiliary benefits 6 days ago and the rep told me it was approved for $1,387 monthly. She seemed very confident and said we'd receive the approval letter "within 7-10 business days" with the first payment to follow shortly after. So far nothing has arrived - no letter, no deposit, and my online Social Security account shows absolutely no updates about the auxiliary benefits. Reading through everyone's experiences in this thread has been incredibly reassuring because I was starting to genuinely worry that something had gone wrong with our case. It's really frustrating to see how consistently SSA gives these optimistic timelines that seem to rarely match the actual processing reality. Based on all the shared experiences here, it's becoming clear that I should mentally prepare for the 3-4 week timeline instead of the 7-10 days they promised during my call. Eva, I really hope you get your approval letter and first payment soon - the financial stress of waiting when you're budgeting around that expected income is absolutely nerve-wracking. Thank you so much for starting this discussion, it's been invaluable to see that these processing delays are unfortunately normal rather than something unique to individual cases!

I'm new to this community but unfortunately going through almost the exact same situation! Had my phone appointment for my daughter's auxiliary benefits 14 days ago and was told it was approved for $1,198 monthly. The rep was so confident and said we'd get the approval letter "within a week" and the first payment would arrive shortly after that. Here we are two weeks later with absolutely nothing - no letter, no payment, and my online account shows zero updates. Reading through all these responses has been such a relief because I was genuinely starting to panic that something went wrong with our application. It's really eye-opening how consistently SSA seems to give these overly optimistic timelines that rarely match reality. Based on everyone's shared experiences, it sounds like 3-4 weeks is much more realistic than the one week they promised. Eva, I hope you get your letter and payment soon - the waiting is incredibly stressful when you're counting on that income for budgeting! Thank you for starting this thread, it's been so helpful to see that these delays are unfortunately normal.

I'm new to this community but unfortunately experiencing something very similar! Had my phone appointment for my son's auxiliary benefits 11 days ago and was told it was approved for $1,043 monthly. The rep seemed so certain and said we'd receive the approval letter "within 5-7 business days" with the first payment following shortly after. So far absolutely nothing has arrived - no letter, no deposit, and my online Social Security account shows zero updates about the auxiliary benefits. Reading through everyone's experiences here has been incredibly reassuring because I was starting to genuinely worry that something had gone wrong with our application. It's really frustrating to see how consistently SSA gives these overly optimistic timelines that seem to rarely match the actual processing reality. Based on all the shared experiences in this thread, it's becoming clear that I should prepare for the 3-4 week timeline instead of the 5-7 days they promised during my call. Eva, I really hope you get your approval letter and first payment soon - the financial stress of waiting when you're budgeting around that expected income is absolutely nerve-wracking. Thank you so much for starting this discussion, it's been invaluable to see that these processing delays are unfortunately the norm rather than something unique to individual cases!