I'm so sorry for your loss, Olivia. This bureaucratic nightmare is exactly what grieving families shouldn't have to deal with. I went through a nearly identical situation when my dad passed away last year. Here's what finally worked for me after weeks of frustration: 1. **Call SSA's dedicated death reporting line at 1-800-772-1213** (as Katherine mentioned) - this bypasses the general customer service maze and connects you directly to death benefit specialists. 2. **File both SSA-1724 AND SSA-721 forms** - the combination really speeds things up. You can actually submit the 1724 online through your SSA account if you create one. 3. **Request written confirmation** from SSA that shows the death has been reported and provides their timeline for reclamation (usually 60-90 days). 4. **Call your father's bank's corporate number** and ask specifically for "Estate Services" or "Fiduciary Services" - not the local branch. Tell them you need funds released for legitimate final expenses under their "compassionate release" policy. 5. **Document everything** - dates, names, what was said. This paper trail becomes crucial if you need to escalate. The bank legally cannot freeze the entire account indefinitely - only the SSA payment amount. If they continue refusing after you speak with Estate Services, mention you'll be filing complaints with both your state banking commission and the FDIC. Your father served our country and deserves that proper memorial. This will get resolved - you just need to get to the right people who actually understand the process. Thank you for his service.

I'm so sorry for your loss, Olivia. Losing a parent is incredibly difficult, and having to navigate this bureaucratic maze while grieving makes it so much worse. I went through something very similar when my mother passed away in 2023. The advice everyone has shared here is excellent - especially about calling the bank's Estate Services department directly rather than dealing with branch staff who often don't understand these situations. One additional tip that really helped me: when you do get the right person at the bank on the phone, ask them to email you a summary of what they've agreed to do and by when. Having that written confirmation prevented me from having to re-explain everything when I called for updates later. Some banks will also set up a dedicated case number for estate matters, which can help ensure continuity when you need to follow up. Also, don't be afraid to mention that you're dealing with a veteran's memorial when talking to both SSA and the bank. In my experience, both organizations tend to be more responsive when they understand it's about honoring military service. Your father served our country and deserves that proper memorial. The fact that you're fighting through all this red tape to honor him shows what a caring child he raised. This will get resolved - you have all the right information now thanks to this community. Thank you for his service.

I just went through this exact same situation about 3 months ago! Got an unexpected $134 payment the day before my regular Social Security deposit and I was so worried it was a mistake. Turned out to be a Medicare Part B premium adjustment - they had been using my income information from 3 years ago instead of 2 years ago, so they were deducting too much from my monthly payments. The $134 was a refund for the overpayment. The explanation letter took exactly 3 weeks to arrive, but it showed up in my mySSA message center after about 8 days. What really helped me was logging into mySSA every couple days to check - the explanation appeared there way before the physical letter. Based on all the great responses here, it sounds like these automated adjustments are super common and almost always legitimate. The timing (day before your regular payment) is actually a good indicator that it's a real system-generated correction rather than an error. I'd definitely recommend keeping it in a separate account until you get the explanation, but try not to stress too much about it. In my case and seemingly everyone else's here, it turned out to be money I was actually entitled to. Please update us when you find out what it was for - these threads are so helpful for future people dealing with the same thing!

I'm also fairly new to Social Security and had a very similar experience about 2 months ago - got an unexpected $162 payment that appeared the day before my regular deposit. Like everyone else here, I was really worried it might be an error that I'd have to pay back later. After reading through all these responses and comparing them to my own situation, I'm amazed at how common these adjustments seem to be! Mine ended up being related to a Medicare Part C (Medicare Advantage) premium change that I had made earlier in the year. Apparently it took several months for their systems to process the change and calculate that they had been deducting too much from my benefits. The explanation letter took about 2.5 weeks to arrive, which seems pretty consistent with what everyone else experienced. What I found most helpful was checking my mySSA account every few days - the explanation showed up there about 10 days after the deposit, well before the letter arrived. One thing I'd add is that when the explanation letter finally came, it was actually much more detailed than I expected. It showed exactly which months the correction applied to and broke down the premium calculations. So when you do get yours, it should give you a very clear picture of what happened. Hang in there - based on everyone's experiences here, these automated payments are almost always legitimate corrections in your favor!

I've been through this process recently and wanted to add one more important point that hasn't been mentioned yet - make sure you're clear about what type of self-employment income you're reporting. For construction contractors, the SSA wants to know about NET earnings from self-employment (after business expenses like materials, equipment, gas, etc.) but BEFORE personal tax deductions. So if your husband has $30K in gross receipts but $7K in legitimate business expenses, you'd report $23K - which sounds like exactly what you calculated. Just make sure you have good records of those business expenses in case SSA asks for documentation later. Also, since he's scaling back significantly, it might be worth having him formally document the change in his business structure. Maybe reducing from full-time sole proprietor to part-time consultant, or changing his business registration to reflect the reduced scope. This creates a paper trail that supports your income estimate if there are ever questions. The earnings test is definitely tricky for self-employed folks, but the fact that you're being proactive about understanding it puts you way ahead of most people. Document everything and you'll be fine!

I'm in a very similar situation and this thread has been incredibly helpful! My husband is also self-employed (landscaping) and we're planning to file soon. One thing I wanted to add that might help others - when we spoke to our accountant about the income estimate, he suggested keeping quarterly records of both income AND hours worked starting as soon as benefits begin. He said this helps in two ways: 1) if SSA ever questions the "substantial services" rule that someone mentioned earlier, you have clear documentation of reduced hours, and 2) if your actual income varies significantly from your estimate, you can show SSA exactly when and why the changes occurred rather than trying to reconstruct everything at year-end. For construction and similar seasonal work, he also recommended being extra careful about those first few months of the year when work might be slower, then picking up in spring/summer. The monthly earnings test can catch people off guard if they have a couple lean months followed by busy ones. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - this is exactly the kind of real-world advice that's impossible to find in the official SSA publications!

Medicare enrollment is separate from Social Security and doesn't begin until age 65, regardless of when you start your Social Security benefits. When you turn 65, you'll have a 7-month Initial Enrollment Period (starting 3 months before your birth month) to sign up for Medicare Parts A and B. If you're still covered by employer health insurance when you turn 65 (either your own or a spouse's), you might be able to delay Medicare enrollment without penalties.

Just want to add some clarity on the conflicting information about the earnings test - both the monthly and annual tests can apply in your first year of benefits. In the year you start collecting (2025), SSA will use whichever test is more favorable to you. The monthly test ($1,860/month after August) protects earnings before you start benefits, but they'll also check the annual limit ($22,320 for the full year). If your total 2025 earnings exceed $22,320, you could still face an overpayment even if you stayed under the monthly limits after filing. Given your numbers ($18,500 by July + $10,000 part-time = $28,500 total), you'd be over the annual limit and might owe back about $3,090 in benefits. I'd recommend calling SSA directly to confirm how they'll apply the test in your specific situation before making your final decision.

I just wanted to chime in as someone who's been helping people navigate Social Security for years - you're absolutely doing the right thing by asking these questions early! A few quick additions to the excellent advice already given: 1) When your HR completes the SSA-131, make sure they're very specific about the dates when the work was actually performed for both the bonus and vacation pay. The clearer the documentation, the smoother the process. 2) For the Medicare premiums, another thing to check is whether you have any Medicare Supplement insurance or Part D drug coverage that might also have premiums being coordinated. Sometimes the multiple deductions can include more than just Part B. 3) One strategy I've seen work well: once you get that first "adjusted" payment, keep those pay stubs/deposit records. If you ever need to contact SSA about your benefits in the future, having that documentation of how they initially calculated everything can be really helpful. The fact that you're planning this out in advance rather than being surprised after the fact puts you way ahead of most people. The earnings test rules are honestly some of the most confusing parts of the Social Security system, but you're taking all the right steps to avoid the common pitfalls!

As someone who just went through early retirement planning myself, I wanted to add a couple of practical tips that helped me prepare for these exact issues: For the SSA-131 form, I'd suggest creating a simple timeline document showing exactly when you performed the work that earned the bonus (like "Q4 2024 sales performance" or specific project dates) and when you accrued the vacation days. This backup documentation can be really helpful if there are any questions later about whether the payments qualify as Special Wage Payments. Regarding budgeting for that first Social Security check - one thing that helped me was asking SSA for a written estimate of the first payment amount including all deductions. When I called, the representative was able to walk through the Medicare premium catch-up, any proration, and estimated deduction amounts so I could budget accurately. It took about 30 minutes on the phone but saved me from a financial surprise. Also, if you haven't already, consider opening a separate savings account just for managing these retirement transition expenses. The first few months can have irregular payment amounts while everything gets sorted out, so having a buffer specifically for this transition period really helped me sleep better at night. You're being incredibly smart to plan all this out in advance. The people who get into trouble are the ones who assume everything will work smoothly without any preparation!