Getting rid of WEP and GPO?

[steelyman]

I received paper mail from SSA today entitled “Retirement, Survivors and Disability Insurance Important Information”. Dated March 11, 2025.

It’s slightly different than the benefit verification letter on the SS website but the numbers are the same. Bottom line is that I’ll receive $550/mo more before deductions than prior to the Act.

Glad I worked those odd jobs (neighborhood laundry, warehouse, car wash, gas station, hospital and retail pharmacies, etc).

 

[CRLLS]

On a somewhat related topic, a huge benefit for me is that my Medicare part B payment will now come from my Social Security. I have received a letter from SSA informing me that my back payment was for January 2024 through February 2025. I will receive a regular payment beginning April 2025 for March. Quarterly Medicare payments for April - June are due March 25. I’ve logged into Medicare to see what it says about payments owed and that part of the system is down this morning. I’m wondering if I need to pay for one month since my SSA payment won’t be until April. I’ll log in next week to double check on this, but thought I’d see if any of the knowledgeable people here had dealt with this. If there is any doubt I will go ahead and pay the Part B premium for one month. I certainly don’t want to risk a break in Medicare payments.

If it is still the way it was some years back, pay the bill in full. It will be caught and you will get 2 months premiums back. That is how it worked for me 7 years ago.

 

[aldo]

On a somewhat related topic, a huge benefit for me is that my Medicare part B payment will now come from my Social Security. I have received a letter from SSA informing me that my back payment was for January 2024 through February 2025. I will receive a regular payment beginning April 2025 for March. Quarterly Medicare payments for April - June are due March 25. I’ve logged into Medicare to see what it says about payments owed and that part of the system is down this morning. I’m wondering if I need to pay for one month since my SSA payment won’t be until April. I’ll log in next week to double check on this, but thought I’d see if any of the knowledgeable people here had dealt with this. If there is any doubt I will go ahead and pay the Part B premium for one month. I certainly don’t want to risk a break in Medicare payments.

I was recently approved for SS spousal benefits thanks to GPO repeal (not eligible for SS myself). I had been paying Medicare monthly by credit card after receiving a bill in the mail. My Medicare account shows that the next premium will be deducted from my April SS benefit. I would have received a bill from Medicare by now if I was to pay. I plan to call Medicare just to make sure all is OK

 

[Sue J]

Well, DH is still waiting....

He did get a confirmation/receipt in the mail that his application for spousal benefits has been completed. This is a result of his phone call on March 4th. His online account page still says Step 2 of 3 with no new info. He says he checks it for updates every day. No deposits at the bank.

We got all excited because he got a letter in the mail last week. But it was a denial of his claim for a benefit based on his own work record. Yeah, he doesn't have 40 quarters. This seems to be a requirement that first they process an application for your own benefit before moving to the spousal application.

They included a little pamphlet all about how to earn the rest of your quarters so he can get the benefit based on his own record. Ok, can we move on to the next step?

I PROMISE I'm being patient!

 

[zl55lz]

Well, DH is still waiting....

He did get a confirmation/receipt in the mail that his application for spousal benefits has been completed. This is a result of his phone call on March 4th. His online account page still says Step 2 of 3 with no new info. He says he checks it for updates every day. No deposits at the bank.

We got all excited because he got a letter in the mail last week. But it was a denial of his claim for a benefit based on his own work record. Yeah, he doesn't have 40 quarters. This seems to be a requirement that first they process an application for your own benefit before moving to the spousal application.

They included a little pamphlet all about how to earn the rest of your quarters so he can get the benefit based on his own record. Ok, can we move on to the next step?

I PROMISE I'm being patient!

I believe they have a short timeframe to (in general) process claims, maybe 2 weeks or so? Unless they asked for some info, it sounds like it could be any day! It could show the letter at the site as soon as it is processed to completion (the letters in the mail seem to take awhile). Look for the Benefit Verification letter and it should open when claim is finalized. Also, if the 6 months retro was requested, it might show the amount in a drop down choice on the Step 3 completed page.

 

[zl55lz]

The site info was updated 3/14/25. Shows some interesting info about how many claims and $ paid out for each State and by zip code. I found the numbers surprising.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Got our official notice today in the mail, about 2 weeks after we actually got our payment. I guess they are more efficient than the Post Office.

 

[Drake3287]

I was recently approved for SS spousal benefits thanks to GPO repeal (not eligible for SS myself). I had been paying Medicare monthly by credit card after receiving a bill in the mail. My Medicare account shows that the next premium will be deducted from my April SS benefit. I would have received a bill from Medicare by now if I was to pay. I plan to call Medicare just to make sure all is OK

I'm in the exact same situation as you and yes, that's exactly what happens. I received my first SS check this week and it was minus the $185. for Medicare Part B. When I received my quarterly Medicare bill last month I called and asked and they said to disregard the bill and that it would come out of my SS check from here on. Surprisingly Medicare and Social Security are pretty on the ball when it comes to this stuff. I was surprised too.

 

[Gumby]

Well, today was the day. Yesterday, the young wife got a message from SSA to check her account and learned that she was approved for her spousal benefit. Today the money appeared in our bank account, with one month's back pay added on (she applied on 1/6/25, to start as of January 2025). We are both quite pleased. Kudos to the workers at SSA for processing all these new applications so quickly.

 

[Alan]

Well, today was the day. Yesterday, the young wife got a message from SSA to check her account and learned that she was approved for her spousal benefit. Today the money appeared in our bank account, with one month's back pay added on (she applied on 1/6/25, to start as of January 2025). We are both quite pleased. Kudos to the workers at SSA for processing all these new applications so quickly.

Excellent news. Well done.

 

[Gumby]

I also note that the benefit she received matches my calculation of what it should be down to the penny. So if anyone is wondering how the spousal benefit is calculated following our earlier discussion (see, e.g., post #525), I am now even more confident that my methodology is correct.

 

[Koolau]

I also note that the benefit she received matches my calculation of what it should be down to the penny,

Heh, heh, why am I not surprised, Gumby?

(That's a compliment!)

 

[PERSonalTime]

Well, DH is still waiting....

He did get a confirmation/receipt in the mail that his application for spousal benefits has been completed. This is a result of his phone call on March 4th. His online account page still says Step 2 of 3 with no new info. He says he checks it for updates every day. No deposits at the bank.

We got all excited because he got a letter in the mail last week. But it was a denial of his claim for a benefit based on his own work record. Yeah, he doesn't have 40 quarters. This seems to be a requirement that first they process an application for your own benefit before moving to the spousal application.

They included a little pamphlet all about how to earn the rest of your quarters so he can get the benefit based on his own record. Ok, can we move on to the next step?

I PROMISE I'm being patient!

Same thing happened to me during the application process. But, I have received my 2nd spousal benefit deposit, so everything is going to work out.

 

[dixonge]

And now *I* am getting a bump! Didn't expect this, but the last two years of salary were at a government entity that did not take out SS. So I guess this is right.

One-time catch up coming in today (less than $1k) and an additional $72/mo starting April. Net bump over last year's SS will be around $101.

I mean, it's not *nothing* ...

 

[FIYes]

I logged into the Medicare website today. I could not make a payment. I did an online chat and was assured that I do not need to make a payment and that Medicare premiums will be paid from my Social Security including any catching up premiums if needed. I probably went further than needed double checking this, but I cannot risk a lapse in Medicare. I’m impressed with the coordination between Medicare and Social Security.

 

[Drake3287]

I logged into the Medicare website today. I could not make a payment. I did an online chat and was assured that I do not need to make a payment and that Medicare premiums will be paid from my Social Security including any catching up premiums if needed. I probably went further than needed double checking this, but I cannot risk a lapse in Medicare. I’m impressed with the coordination between Medicare and Social Security.

Agree, I've been pleasantly surprised at how efficient they can be. I went through the same thing, I was paying quarterly Medicare and just like you and I was told my next payment would be coming out of my first SS check and sure enough it did!

 

[iloveyoga]

I have read about this all along, but I did not realize it would impact my 84 year old mother. Dad worked for the railroad and she is receiving his benefit from the railroad retirement board. Looks like I need to get her application in. She received a letter from Social Security telling her to apply.

 

[akck]

I received a large deposit from SSA on Monday which I assumed was the lump sum payment. It exceeded what I thought it might have been. Today, we received more deposits from SSA for both my wife (GPO), and myself (WEP), more inline with what I thought the deposits would be. I checked our accounts online and the second deposits match our accounts. The first large deposit is nowhere to be found. Just curious if anyone else received an extra deposit.

I just opened our SSA benefits letter, and I can now follow what the deposits were for. First, the largest deposit was for my wife’s back dated GPO payment additional amount for eliminating GPO. The next largest deposit was for my WEP back dated payments. The smallest deposit was for my wife as they adjusted for removal of WEP from my earnings.

So now I feel confident that we can utilize these deposits for whatever we need. They withheld taxes from these deposits so I don’t need to make any additional payments for quarterly taxes.

 

[iloveyoga]

I have read about this all along, but I did not realize it would impact my 84 year old mother. Dad worked for the railroad and she is receiving his benefit from the railroad retirement board. Looks like I need to get her application in. She received a letter from Social Security telling her to apply.

We submitted Mom’s application on line today.

 

[steelyman]

The SSA website finally shows what I think will be my monthly payment going forward.

I’ve not had any Federal tax withheld previously but I will change that by filing Form W-4V.

Request To Withhold Taxes

 

[iloveyoga]

We submitted Mom’s application on line today.

I checked the status of Mom's on-line application, it shows step 2 of 3 and gives timing of 30 days.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Social Security called me yesterday and said if I wanted back pay for 6 months off of my ex I needed to come in and sign a statement. They gave me one for 2 weeks. I already got my WEP back pay. They were really nice and I so appreciate them.

 

[Sue J]

Finally, I have an update.

DH’s application for spousal benefits has been approved and his account now shows he’s in Step 3. It says he should be getting a letter in the mail in 10 days or so.

Still no deposits in the bank account. He should be getting a lump sum for backdating his claim to July 2024. When he started this process on Jan 5th I had hoped he would be getting his monthly deposit in April but I don’t know if that will happen this month.

DH does not interact with anything financial so this has been a big step for him. He’s been checking his SSA.gov account every day and finally got to see progress!

 

[Gumby]

Social security checks are paid on Wednesdays, depending on the date of your birth. Birthdate in the 1st 10 days of a month is paid second Wednesday, 2d 10 days paid on third Wednesday and last 8-11 days is paid fourth Wednesday. When my wife was approved, her first check (actually, direct deposit) on 3/12 was a double payment - one that was due then (payment for February) and one that was for the delay from the month she applied to start (January) .

 

[Sue J]

His birthday (70th!!) is on the 9th and if he's in the system his payment would be the 2nd Wednesday, which is also the 9th. Would be nice, but I'm not counting on it. I know if there is a delay they will catch it all up at some point.

He's already paid his April Medicare payment in March, we do the auto withdrawal with Medicare Easy Pay and it's happens on the 20th. I'm confident that any duplicate payments will be adjusted. I've read that it's fairly common.

He's got a list of stuff he'd like to buy, upgrade his iPad and some of his Raspberry Pi components. Nothing too big and then his new SS benefit will be extra gravy to the monthly income, just like mine is.

We can be patient (and very appreciative) because this is money we never expected and don't "need" at this point. Of course, that can change as we age and as inflation does its thing. So far, so good!