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Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! This clears up a lot of my confusion. I'm going to take that consulting job and not worry about an earnings limit. I'll talk to my tax person about possibly making estimated quarterly payments to cover the extra income and maybe adjusting my withholding on my Social Security benefits too. Really appreciate all the explanations!
That sounds like a good plan! Talking to a tax professional is definitely wise in this situation. If you're doing consulting work, you might also want to ask about potential deductions for business expenses that could help offset some of the tax impact. Enjoy your consulting work!
I just wanted to apologize for my earlier response. I was confusing the rules before and after FRA. My husband was still 6 months away from his FRA when he went back to work, which is why he saw a reduction. Thank you to everyone who provided the correct information!
we all get confused with these complicated rules! the SSA website makes it so hard to understand anything!!
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BTW make sure u know filing at 62 means permanently reduced benefits! I did it and sometimes regret not waiting longer
This is an important point. Filing at 62 results in a permanent reduction of about 30% compared to waiting until Full Retirement Age (FRA). For someone born in 1963, FRA is 66 years and 10 months. And if you wait even longer, until age 70, your benefit would increase by 8% per year beyond FRA.
After reading through this thread, I want to summarize the correct information for clarity: 1. You cannot receive both your own retirement benefit AND an ex-spouse benefit at full value simultaneously. 2. If eligible for both, you receive the higher of the two amounts. 3. The "restricted application" strategy that allowed collecting one benefit while the other grows was eliminated for anyone born after January 1, 1954. 4. At age 62, both your own retirement benefit and any ex-spouse benefit would be reduced by approximately 30% from their full retirement age amounts. 5. The rep likely meant you'd receive $900 total (not $900 + $600). I strongly recommend getting a detailed benefits calculation from SSA showing your options at different claiming ages before making any decisions.
Thank you for this clear summary. I've scheduled another call with SSA for next week and I'll specifically ask for benefit calculations at different ages. This has been so helpful!
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Update: I took the advice about requesting critical case status and brought documentation about my financial hardship to the local office yesterday. The claims specialist was actually very helpful and submitted the request. She said it should speed things up considerably. Also got confirmation that I'll receive full back pay once it's resolved. Thanks everyone for your suggestions - this has been so stressful!
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I think everyone's making this too complicated lol. Here's the simple version: if he was on SSDI when he died, that's the same amount as full retirement. SSDI payments aren't reduced like early retirement is. So you'd get that full amount after GPO repeal (if it happens). But honestly don't get your hopes up about the repeal, they've been promising that forever.
Thanks for putting it simply! So SSDI is the same as what he would've gotten at full retirement age? That makes sense. And yeah, I'm not counting on the repeal, but it would be nice!
Has anyone heard when the House will vote on the GPO repeal? My pension from teaching for 31 years is eating almost ALL of my late husband's SS benefit and I'm struggling to make ends meet!!
The House schedule isn't certain yet. The Senate passed it as part of the Social Security Fairness Act, but there's still significant legislative process ahead. I'd recommend following the National Association of Retired Federal Employees (NARFE) website as they post regular updates on the progress of the GPO/WEP repeal efforts.
Andre Dupont
does anyone know when the changes actually start??? i heard some people saying next month but others said it could be YEARS before we see a penny!!!!!
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AstroAdventurer
•Implementation schedules vary by provision and are specifically outlined in the legislation. Some aspects may take effect within months, while others could be phased in over several years. This is typical for major Social Security changes to minimize budget impacts. The SSA will need time to update their systems and processes to accommodate these changes. Your best bet is to periodically check the official SSA website for updates specific to GPO/WEP changes, as they'll post implementation timelines once they're finalized.
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Jamal Wilson
I think I'm affected by this too but I'm getting widows benefits and my deceased husband's fire pension. But I've always gotten both full amounts? Now I'm confused if I should be worried about reductions or happy about increases lol
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GalacticGuru
•If you're receiving both your husband's fire pension AND full Social Security survivor benefits without reduction, it's possible your situation is different. Some pensions are from jobs that were covered by both their pension system AND Social Security (meaning Social Security taxes were paid), which wouldn't trigger GPO. Or there could be other exceptions applying in your case. I'd recommend verifying with SSA that you're not subject to GPO rather than assuming the new law will change anything for you.
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