Not so smooth with SSA

[Hermit]

There have been lots of threads and posts noteing how easy and smooth starting Social Security payments have been for many. Not this time.



A little back ground... I retired at 63 and began collecting Social Security on my late wife's account. I turn 70 next February so it is time to move to collecting on my own account.


I was not sure exactly how to go about doing this with collecting on my wife's account so I called SSA a couple of weeks ago. The lady I talked to said I was not too early and I could apply by phone or in person. I said by phone. She told me someone from the local office would call to set a phone appointment in a few days. That was that so I waited for the phone call. It never came. Today I received a letter from the local SSA office informing me that my phone request for Supplemental Security Income had been denied.


It looks like I will be on the phone for a few hours tomorrow trying to straighten this out. Working with Government minions can be so much fun!


More on this saga as it develops.

 

[Scrapr]

I'd make a appointment & go in. It may be a case of SS not being able to end your late wife's SS over the phone, along with starting on your record. I went in after my wife passed and they were very helpful. Showed that I could collect on her account, but would be taxed if income >$18k or so. So I asked about other options. He came up with a plan to collect at 65 on her account, then switch to mine at 70

The waiting area was the worst part but once I got to the window the guy was very nice and helped a lot

 

[REWahoo]

I'm guessing most of us who had smooth sailing signing up for SS had "plain vanilla" situations, not the complexity your sign up presents. That said, it should still be something the SS folks are familiar with and can implement without the confusion you are experiencing.

Hope you get it straightened out without too much effort.

PS, I agree with Scrapr on going in person. I've only done that once but was pleased at how helpful the SS person was that I saw at the local office.

 

[Hermit]

I think I will do an in-person appointment. It means over 3 hours of driving, but this response makes me a little leary of trying to get it done by phone.

 

[RobbieB]

They required me to go in person to collect on my survivor benes, so I'll be going in to end them and start my own.

 

[Hermit]

I'd make a appointment & go in. It may be a case of SS not being able to end your late wife's SS over the phone, along with starting on your record. I went in after my wife passed and they were very helpful. Showed that I could collect on her account, but would be taxed if income >$18k or so. So I asked about other options. He came up with a plan to collect at 65 on her account, then switch to mine at 70

The waiting area was the worst part but once I got to the window the guy was very nice and helped a lot

I went in person when I applied under my wife's account. The waiting room was interesting. It was packed and only a hand full were any where near 60. Most were in their 20s and 30s.


All SS accounts seem to be a bit different. In my case I have a large enough pension that any SSA income is taxed so I started on my wife's account when I retired.

 

[Red Badger]

Yup. Go there.

DW has only spousal benefit. We tried to do it over the phone. After a while, we all agreed to do F2F. After that, strawberries and champagne.

 

[PawPrint53]

My son has an interesting situation. He went in to the office because he had trouble setting up an online account because he wanted to use the retirement estimator. He brought his birth certificate from Korea, his naturalization papers and his original adoption paperwork and the paperwork from when I adopted him when he was 30. The clerk wanted his original adoptive mother's maiden name (she was Korean), which he doesn't know (it's been 40+ years). It may be on the birth certificate, but he can't read it. The clerk kept saying to just say it phonetically, but since he doesn't know it, he can't say it. So she then asked for his adoptive father's name (he's American), which he does know. He said the name, she looked at her computer and said, no, that's not it. What?? Not sure how he's going to resolve the situation, and now he's wondering if there might be some kind of fraud going on because of the father's name problem.

 

[lucky penny]

Today I received a letter from the local SSA office informing me that my phone request for Supplemental Security Income had been denied.

For me, applying for SS by phone did go smoothly (no need to wait for a return call), but a couple of weeks later when I got the letter stating that my benefits would begin on the requested date there was also a letter stating that my request for SSI benefits (which I never sought) had been denied. I assumed that the SSI letter was either routine or a glitch & ignored it.

Since you don't turn 70 till February your new benefit won't start till March, so it might be too early for SSA to process.

I'm guessing (& hoping) a phone call will resolve this.

 

[MissMolly]

For me, applying for SS by phone did go smoothly (no need to wait for a return call), but a couple of weeks later when I got the letter stating that my benefits would begin on the requested date there was also a letter stating that my request for SSI benefits (which I never sought) had been denied. I assumed that the SSI letter was either routine or a glitch & ignored it.

Since you don't turn 70 till February your new benefit won't start till March, so it might be too early for SSA to process.

I'm guessing (& hoping) a phone call will resolve this.

The letter stating SSI denial is routine.

 

[dixonge]

We had an odd situation online. My account is fine, DW got locked out when trying to set up/login. Their support person suggested it might be an issue with Experian (or whichever credit bureau) and they also kindly unlocked her account at SSA.gov. We went online to credit bureau, all is good, nothing is frozen, etc. Went back to SSA, logged in, locked again.

So even though we've delayed the initiation of her benefits, we had a trip back to the U.S. scheduled so we just waited. Today is the big day! In-person visit to S.S. Should be fun?

 

[Bruno]

I went in person when I applied under my wife's account. The waiting room was interesting. It was packed and only a hand full were any where near 60. Most were in their 20s and 30s..

This was also like my first experience about 3 years ago. Seemed to be more a disability office than a SSA office. They had a security guard (Not Carrying) and a take a number machine. After waiting almost 2 hours they called my number. I told him i was THINKING about early retirement and wanted to get some numbers. I was told to come back and see them when i was ready to retire. I ended up doing it online this year and did call in once with a question and that person was very helpful.

 

[VanWinkle]

They required me to go in person to collect on my survivor benes, so I'll be going in to end them and start my own.

I did the same, best way to make sure they don't screw it up.

 

[marinauser]

If the original adoptive mother's name is on the document but in a foreign language, why not have the document translated and then he knows what it says. You could even get a certified translation.

 

[Hermit]

This was also like my first experience about 3 years ago. Seemed to be more a disability office than a SSA office. They had a security guard (Not Carrying) and a take a number machine. After waiting almost 2 hours they called my number. I told him i was THINKING about early retirement and wanted to get some numbers. I was told to come back and see them when i was ready to retire. I ended up doing it online this year and did call in once with a question and that person was very helpful.

I went in to the local office about a year prior to retiring and asked about benefits for my planning. The lady I talked to printed out reports that showed how much I would get for each starting month up to 70 both on my account and on my late wife's account. It was very helpful to my planning process. There was no security at that time. A year later when I went in to start SS on my wife's account the security guard and procedures were in place.

 

[Hermit]

I called SSA this morning, spent my hour on hold and talked to a rep. She confirmed that the SSI denial is a routine screening. I set a phone appointment for mid December which was the earliest available. I don't know why the first rep I talked to could not set an appointment. December is iffy for switching over in March so the rep suggested I do a walkin in November. I will do that on a Thursday or Friday at her suggestion to avoid the first 3 days of the week.

 

[harllee]

Hermit, I had to go to my local Social Security office several times because someone had stolen my SS payment (identity theft). It is impossible to get an appointment at my SS office, you just have to show up and wait (for hours). I found a trick--I go in about 30-45 minutes before opening time and stand outside the door in the hall (there are usually several people doing this) so that I am one of the first to get a number when the door opens. Also, take a book to read.

 

[ScaredtoQuit]

An important question about your claim... Did you wait until you were full retirement age (which I presume would be 66 for you) before you started receiving spousal benefits?? If you didn't, the benefits you've been receiving over the past umpteen years might have actually come from your own account and not a spousal benefit at all. If that's the case, there would be no big bump up coming and that might be the reason you got a denial letter. Hopefully, I'm wrong... but you still need to check that out!!

 

[Hermit]

Hermit, I had to go to my local Social Security office several times because someone had stolen my SS payment (identity theft). It is impossible to get an appointment at my SS office, you just have to show up and wait (for hours). I found a trick--I go in about 30-45 minutes before opening time and stand outside the door in the hall (there are usually several people doing this) so that I am one of the first to get a number when the door opens. Also, take a book to read.

Thanks. I'll do that.

 

[braumeister]

Go to the most rural SS office you can drive to. It will be so much easier than one in a more urban environment.

That said (voice of experience here), I have to admit that every SS person I've dealt with, both in person and over the phone, has been excellent.

 

[Hermit]

An important question about your claim... Did you wait until you were full retirement age (which I presume would be 66 for you) before you started receiving spousal benefits?? If you didn't, the benefits you've been receiving over the past umpteen years might have actually come from your own account and not a spousal benefit at all. If that's the case, there would be no big bump up coming and that might be the reason you got a denial letter. Hopefully, I'm wrong... but you still need to check that out!!

I started receiving payments on my late wife's account at 63. Ths amount received matched the amount I was to receive on her account. My Medicare ID was also based on her SSN which was linked to the SSN my SS payments are linked to. There is quite a bit of difference between spousal benefits and deceased spouse benefits in how it is determined. I hope I did everything correctly. There is always a bit of lingering doubt especially with large amounts of money involved. I don't think I will feel sure until the larger deposits start hitting my checking account, hopefully next March.

 

[harllee]

braumeister, I am glad you have had good experiences with the SS folks. My experience is the opposite. When I was trying to straighten out my SS identity theft issue I had AWFUL experiences with the SS employees over several months. I finally had to contact my Congressman to get my SS and Medicare straightened out. My Congressman's office was able to straighten out the mess in 1 phone call that I had been trying to get straightened out for months. The local SS office admitted that the thief who stole my SS deposit (got my SS deposit sent to the thief's bank account) was able to do it because someone at SS was negligent and did not contact me to confirm the change.

 

[REWahoo]

Go to the most rural SS office you can drive to. It will be so much easier than one in a more urban environment.

+1

That is definitely the case here. Everyone in our community avoids the big-city SS office 20 miles away and drives an additional 40 miles to an office in a nearby small town (pop. 25,000).

 

[Momcpa]

Small town office!!! We've been there a couple times. Walked in, took a number, and waited probably less than 15 minutes each time. One time, we were able to take the number and walk up to the desk. They had a security officer each time we were there.

Good experience every time. They answered our questions, and gave us information we didn't think to ask about. DH is collecting on mine for the next few months yet. Then we hope the transition to his own goes as smoothly as all has up til now.

 

[ScaredtoQuit]

I started receiving payments on my late wife's account at 63. Ths amount received matched the amount I was to receive on her account. My Medicare ID was also based on her SSN which was linked to the SSN my SS payments are linked to. There is quite a bit of difference between spousal benefits and deceased spouse benefits in how it is determined. I hope I did everything correctly. There is always a bit of lingering doubt especially with large amounts of money involved. I don't think I will feel sure until the larger deposits start hitting my checking account, hopefully next March.

You're right!! Hopefully, my comment will end up being a minor distraction.