Social Security spousal benefits - Is my mom missing out on higher payments she deserves?

Your suspicion is correct! Your mom should be receiving a spousal benefit that brings her total up to 50% of your dad's PIA (Primary Insurance Amount). Since her own benefit is less than half of his, SSA should automatically add a "spousal boost" to reach that 50% threshold. This doesn't happen automatically in all cases though - SSA needs to know they're married and sometimes the application needs to specifically request spousal benefits. When did your dad file for his benefits relative to when your mom filed for hers?

my aunt had the same thing happen!! she was getting like $700 and should been getting alomst twice that. SSA didnt fix it until she went to the office with all her docs and stuff. They gave her all the back pay too but took like 3 months

The Social Security Administration should have automatically calculated and included the spousal benefit when your mother filed, especially if they went to the office together. There are a few possibilities why this might not have happened: 1. Your father's PIA (Primary Insurance Amount - the benefit amount at his full retirement age) may be different than his current payment. The spousal benefit is based on 50% of the PIA, not the actual payment amount. 2. If your father took benefits early with a reduction, the spousal benefit calculation changes. 3. Your mother may be affected by the Government Pension Offset (GPO) if she ever worked in a government job where she didn't pay into Social Security. 4. There could simply be a processing error. I would recommend calling SSA directly at 1-800-772-1213 to request a benefit recalculation and explanation. Have your mother with you for the call as they'll need to verify her identity. Make sure to ask specifically about spousal benefits and whether she's receiving the full amount she's entitled to.

Call them!! My wife and i got it sorted by talking to an agent. Have all the SSNs and birthdays ready when you call. Good luck!!!

I had a similar issue last year trying to sort out my wife's benefits. Calling SSA direct was a nightmare - waited 2+ hours multiple times only to get disconnected! I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes. You can see how it works in their video demo: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU When I finally spoke to someone, they confirmed my wife was missing her spousal benefit supplement. They fixed it going forward AND paid all the back benefits she was owed - about 7 months worth. Definitely worth pursuing because this money belongs to your mom!

BE CAREFUL!!! Social Security reps will tell you different things depending who you talk to!!! I called THREE TIMES about spouse benefits and got completely different answers each time! The third person finally knew what they were talking about. INSIST on talking to a supervisor or benefits specialist if the first person seems confused!!!!

To answer your question about documentation - your mother should gather: 1. Her Social Security card and ID 2. Marriage certificate 3. Both her and your father's most recent Social Security benefit statements 4. Any correspondence from SSA about her benefit amount If she is indeed entitled to a higher benefit amount through the spousal benefit, SSA will pay retroactive benefits from the time she should have started receiving them, typically up to 6 months prior to the month she requests the correction (though in some cases they may go back further). One thing to note: if your mother started receiving her own benefits before reaching her Full Retirement Age (FRA), this would permanently reduce both her own benefit and the spousal portion, which might explain some of the difference you're seeing.

one more thing! make sure your mom looks at her my social security account online if she has one. sometimes it explains the breakdown of benefits there and might show if shes getting any spousal amount already

After using that service I mentioned to get through to SSA, the agent explained that my wife's spousal benefit wasn't applied because when she applied online, she accidentally indicated she wasn't married (clicked the wrong option). Such a simple mistake with expensive consequences! This happens more often than you'd think. The agent was able to verify our marriage using their system and fix everything. Based on your dad's current benefit of $2,200, your mom should be getting around $1,100 if she's entitled to exactly 50% of his PIA. The fact that she's only getting $875 suggests she's definitely missing out on about $225 monthly!

my grandma had same problem. you gotta b agressive w/ SSA or they will keep shorting her. good luck