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Another consideration: once your daughter turns 18, even if she continues on survivor's benefits as a disabled adult child (DAC), she might also qualify for SSI if those survivor benefits are below the maximum federal benefit rate (currently $943/month for 2023). Also, when she turns 18, think about whether you should become her representative payee. If her disabilities affect her ability to manage finances, having you continue as her payee might be best. SSA will evaluate this when she transitions to adult benefits. Regarding work - some parents in your situation find that working full-time actually improves their overall financial situation because of benefits like health insurance and retirement contributions, even after accounting for the loss of SS benefits. It's worth doing a complete financial analysis.
You've given me a lot to think about regarding long-term planning. I hadn't considered the representative payee situation for when she turns 18, but that makes sense. She wouldn't be able to manage her finances independently. I'll definitely look into the potential for SSI supplementation as well. Thanks for these additional considerations!
I went through this exact situation 3 years ago with my son who has autism and intellectual disability. Here's what I wish I had known: 1. Start the CDB application NOW - don't wait. I made the mistake of waiting until 2 months before his 16th birthday and it was a nightmare of stress. 2. Get a comprehensive psychological evaluation done by a neuropsychologist if you don't have one recent. SSA weighs these heavily for intellectual and developmental disabilities. 3. Consider opening a special needs trust or ABLE account now while you still have time to plan. Once she's 18 and potentially on SSI, asset limits become really important. 4. Document EVERYTHING about her daily care needs. I kept a daily log for 2 months showing what assistance she needed with activities of daily living - this helped enormously with the determination. The financial hit when you lose your benefits is real, but manageable if you plan ahead. I actually ended up in a better place financially after a year of full-time work, plus my son qualified for additional state services we didn't know about before. One more tip: if your local SSA office isn't helpful, try calling the national number and asking to speak with a disability specialist. Some offices are just more knowledgeable than others.
This is incredibly helpful - thank you for sharing your experience! I especially appreciate the tip about keeping a daily log of her care needs. That's something concrete I can start doing right away. Can I ask what kind of things you documented in the log? Like specific tasks she needed help with, or times when her disabilities affected daily activities? I want to make sure I'm capturing the right information that SSA will find relevant for the determination.
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Just one more thing to keep in mind: When calculating survivor benefits, the age at which the deceased claimed their own benefits can affect the survivor benefit amount. If they claimed early (before FRA), that can reduce the survivor benefit. If they delayed claiming (after FRA), the survivor benefit includes those delayed retirement credits. Also, should either your current husband or ex-husband pass away, you should contact Social Security promptly. As another commenter mentioned, retroactive benefits are limited, and the application process can take time. Having all your documentation ready (marriage certificates, divorce decree, birth certificates, Social Security numbers) will make the process smoother.
Thank you for this additional information. I know my current husband is planning to delay claiming until age 72, so that would potentially increase any survivor benefit I might receive from him. I'm not sure about my ex's plans. This is all so complicated, but I appreciate everyone's help in understanding how it works.
One more consideration that might be helpful - if you're still working when you become eligible for survivor benefits, be aware of the earnings test. If you claim survivor benefits before your Full Retirement Age and you're still earning income, Social Security may temporarily reduce your benefits if your earnings exceed certain limits. For 2024, you can earn up to $22,320 without any reduction, but they'll reduce benefits by $1 for every $2 you earn above that limit. Once you reach your FRA, the earnings test no longer applies. This might factor into your timing decisions if you're planning to continue working.
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my neighbor is in this exact situation and she just keeps checking the news every day hoping it'll pass. she's missing out on like $900 a month because of GPO! thats REAL money that could change her life
It's criminal what they're doing to us! I'm losing over $1,200 a month between the WEP reduction on my own benefit and the GPO elimination of my survivor benefit. After 40+ years of working (partly in covered and partly in non-covered employment), this is how they treat us!
I'm in a similar boat as your husband! I'm a retired state employee with a pension (no SS contributions during those years) and my wife has been paying into Social Security her whole career. We've been holding off on me applying for spousal benefits because of the GPO mess. From everything I've read and heard from others here, you're absolutely right that he doesn't need to have applied previously - he can just apply once the law passes (fingers crossed it does!). The key thing is that if this bill goes through, it completely eliminates both GPO and WEP, so all those previous calculations become irrelevant. I'd definitely recommend staying on top of the legislative updates and having all your documentation ready to go. We've been keeping track through Congress.gov and contacting our representatives regularly to show support. Here's hoping 2025 is finally the year this gets fixed!
Thanks for sharing your experience! It's reassuring to hear from someone in the exact same situation. I've been following Congress.gov too but sometimes feel overwhelmed by all the legislative jargon. Do you have any tips on which specific updates to watch for that would signal the bill is actually moving forward versus just sitting in committee? Also, when you contact your representatives, do you mention specific dollar amounts you're losing or keep it more general? I want to make sure my message has the most impact possible.
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This gives me so much hope! I'm dealing with a WEP nightmare too - been fighting for 2 years over their calculation. They keep applying the maximum reduction even though I have 25 years of substantial earnings which should reduce the penalty significantly. The worst part is every time I call, I get someone different who acts like they've never heard of WEP before. One rep literally told me "that's just how the system calculates it" when I tried to explain their error. So frustrating! I'm definitely going to try asking for a Technical Expert on my next call. I didn't know that was even an option. And thank you for sharing about documenting everything - I've been writing things down but not getting employee IDs. That's a great tip. Really crossing my fingers that your correction goes through without needing the ALJ hearing. $740/month is huge! Please update us on what happens when you call back. Stories like yours keep me motivated to keep fighting this broken system.
I completely understand your frustration! The "that's just how the system calculates it" response is infuriating when you KNOW they're wrong. With 25 years of substantial earnings, you should definitely be getting a reduced WEP penalty, not the maximum reduction. When you ask for a Technical Expert, be persistent if the first person tries to brush you off. Sometimes you have to ask to speak to a supervisor first, then ask the supervisor to connect you with someone who specializes in WEP calculations. Also, have your earnings record printed out in front of you so you can reference specific years and amounts. One thing that helped me was creating a simple one-page summary showing my substantial earnings years and what the correct WEP reduction percentage should be based on SSA's own charts. Sometimes having it laid out visually helps the rep understand the issue faster. Don't give up - you're absolutely right to keep fighting this! The system is broken but there are people within SSA who do know how to fix these calculations correctly. It just takes persistence to find them.
This thread is incredibly helpful! I've been lurking here for months dealing with my own WEP disaster. My case is a bit different - I'm a federal retiree with CSRS pension, and SSA has been applying WEP to reduce my benefits even though I have 32 years of substantial Social Security earnings, which should completely exempt me from any WEP reduction. The most maddening part is that I've submitted all the documentation multiple times showing my substantial earnings history, but they keep sending back letters saying my calculation is "correct" without any explanation of how they arrived at their numbers. Reading about everyone's experiences with Technical Experts is eye-opening - I had no idea I could specifically request someone with WEP expertise. I've been getting bounced around to regular customer service reps who clearly don't understand the nuances of these calculations. @Melody - your story gives me so much hope that there might actually be competent people at SSA who can fix these messes! I'm definitely going to try the approach of asking for a Technical Expert and having all my documentation ready in a one-page summary format. Has anyone had success getting their case escalated to a supervisor when the regular reps don't seem to understand WEP exemptions? I feel like I need someone with actual authority to override whatever is causing their system to keep applying the wrong reduction.
Freya Andersen
I'm going through the exact same situation right now! Filed in January for benefits starting April 2025, and my 2024 earnings aren't showing up online either. After reading everyone's experiences here, it sounds like the automatic adjustment is pretty reliable - just takes time. I'm budgeting conservatively based on my current benefit estimate and treating any future increase as a bonus. The peace of mind is worth more than stressing over the exact timing. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, it really helps to know this is normal!
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StarSeeker
•That's exactly the right approach! I'm new to navigating Social Security but from what I'm reading here, it sounds like budgeting conservatively is smart. The automatic adjustment seems to be the norm rather than the exception. It's really helpful to see so many people sharing similar experiences - makes me feel less anxious about the whole process. Good luck with your April start date!
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Jamal Carter
As someone who just started receiving benefits last year, I can confirm what others are saying about the automatic adjustment process. My 2023 earnings took about 6 months to get processed and added to my benefit calculation. The frustrating part is that there's really no way to speed it up - it's just a waiting game. But the good news is that when the adjustment finally came through, I received all the back pay from when my benefits started. Since you only have 28 years of earnings, that 2024 income will definitely help your calculation more than someone who already has 35+ years. I'd recommend keeping detailed records of your 2024 earnings just in case you need to provide documentation later, though in most cases the W-2 data flows through automatically. Hang in there - the system works, it's just painfully slow!
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Ashley Simian
•This is really reassuring to hear from someone who just went through this! Six months does seem like a long time to wait, but knowing that the back pay comes through makes it much more manageable. I appreciate the tip about keeping detailed records of my 2024 earnings - I'll make sure to save copies of my pay stubs and W-2 when it arrives. It's good to know that having fewer than 35 years of earnings means my 2024 income will likely have a bigger impact on my benefit calculation. Thanks for sharing your experience and the encouragement!
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