Should I Be Worried?

[jldavid47]

I've told part of this story before, but there is still remaining drama.


On October 6th, both DW and I applied for our Social Security benefits to start in January (first payment in February). I also applied for Medicare Part B at the same time. She received her benefits letter of October 26th. They needed more forms from me for Medicare (I am 66 and had been on my wife's employer benefits) and after a bit of hassle (the part I told before) I got my Medicare Part B benefits approved and they started on 12/1.


I have been waiting ever since for MY benefits letter telling me how much my Social Security benefit will be and when it will start. I have talked to 3 people at Social Security over the past 6 weeks (the last of which was disinterested and rude) and been told that when they look at my account my payments "should" start in February. However, without that official piece of paper I'm not convinced because nobody I have talked to has said they WILL start in February.


Has anyone else had this kind of issue with Social Security? It's been over 3 months since I applied and I really don't think COVID is an excuse given how quickly my wife's application was processed and given how my Medicare issue was solved over 6 weeks ago. We have ample savings but we could still use the cash flow. Comments? Suggestions?

 

[Aerides]

Would you like to suggest a more descriptive title? It's rather wide open and might attract more folks that have no actual help to offer, and might not attract the ones that can.

 

[SheitlQueen]

Have you checked you online account? I never received a letter in the mail but I found the information in my account.

 

[MissMolly]

Have you tried logging into your SS account online? It's easy for a physical letter to become lost in the mail - especially nowadays. A copy of the letter would be posted to your online SS account.

ETA: Ooops. I see SheitlQueen beat me to the punch!

 

[Cricket69]

I've told part of this story before, but there is still remaining drama.


On October 6th, both DW and I applied for our Social Security benefits to start in January (first payment in February). I also applied for Medicare Part B at the same time. She received her benefits letter of October 26th. They needed more forms from me for Medicare (I am 66 and had been on my wife's employer benefits) and after a bit of hassle (the part I told before) I got my Medicare Part B benefits approved and they started on 12/1.


I have been waiting ever since for MY benefits letter telling me how much my Social Security benefit will be and when it will start. I have talked to 3 people at Social Security over the past 6 weeks (the last of which was disinterested and rude) and been told that when they look at my account my payments "should" start in February. However, without that official piece of paper I'm not convinced because nobody I have talked to has said they WILL start in February.


Has anyone else had this kind of issue with Social Security? It's been over 3 months since I applied and I really don't think COVID is an excuse given how quickly my wife's application was processed and given how my Medicare issue was solved over 6 weeks ago. We have ample savings but we could still use the cash flow. Comments? Suggestions?

Good morning. I applied by phone on 10/4/20 to begin my benefits 1/21(with first check arriving in 2/21). I just got my letter confirming my details(monthly amount, taxes deducted, etc) this week. So, maybe consider waiting a bit longer before reaching out to SS again.

 

[street]

Have you checked you online account? I never received a letter in the mail but I found the information in my account.

I believe this is where we found our information as well. Setup an account and all current info will be there for you.

 

[jollystomper]

DW applied in late October 2019 for her SS benefits to start in 2020. There was a little delay as they had to straighten out that the city she was born in was in another country and not in the U.S. (darn those abbreviations). She received her first check in February 2020. I do not recall receiving a letter, but her online account indicated what she would be receiving. As others have said, check that.

 

[jldavid47]

Have you checked you online account? I never received a letter in the mail but I found the information in my account.

Yes. At least once a week including this morning.

 

[skipro33]

I had a similar problem with no letter and nothing on SS. Then I decided to click every possible link on my SS page. Eventually I clicked the link to PRINT a letter for proof of SS. Typically use for an employer or something I assume. That link was the letter I needed that spelled out that I have SS, when my checks start and for how much. You might want to try the same.

 

[jldavid47]

I had a similar problem with no letter and nothing on SS. Then I decided to click every possible link on my SS page. Eventually I clicked the link to PRINT a letter for proof of SS. Typically use for an employer or something I assume. That link was the letter I needed that spelled out that I have SS, when my checks start and for how much. You might want to try the same.

Thanks for the tip but after clicking on everything the only benefits verification letter I have is the one for Medicare....

 

[georgemoe]

My DW applied the same time as you and just got her letter Thursday. She talked with SSA once a couple weeks ago and got her benefit amount info ahead of the letter. Sorry you are having so much trouble.

 

[skipro33]

Thanks for the tip but after clicking on everything the only benefits verification letter I have is the one for Medicare....

Just in case this slipped by;
1. After logging in to SS account, you should be on the 'Overview' page.
2. on the right side of the screen, you'll see 'Overview' is highlighted. Under that is a tab marked, 'Benefit and Payment Details'. Click on that.
3. This new page is divided into two parts, Benefits and Payment. Benefits is at the top of the page. There are two tabs here; Social Security (Retirement) which is a drop down window showing Monthly Benefit Amount, Payment Schedule and Next Payment Date. Don't click that one. Click the one below that one labeled 'Get Benefit Verification Letter'. A window within the page will appear. A tab will show with a PDF symbol. It is labeled, 'Download Your Benefit Verification Letter (PDF).
4. Click on this and a new tab on your browser should open. There you will find a HTML of a letter from SS you can print out. It should have the info you seek.
5. If not, then it should provide you the reason why this info is not available.

I hope this somehow helps you.

 

[MissMolly]

If it's of any help, I never received an actual letter in the mail. And the letter in my online account at SS didn't show up until the week before my first benefit payment hit my bank account. Whenever I checked online it just said "Pending" until that final week before payment. Some people get almost instant turnaround, others just seem to sit in limbo until the last minute. There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it.

 

[Gumby]

I applied the first week of December, with a first check to arrive in mid-March. My SS site still just shows "pending". It is my understanding that they will catch me up if it goes longer than that. I don't urgently need the money anyway.

 

[gayl]

I'm also FRUSTRATED

I thought I signed up Friday to start in May so I went into check. Nothing there. So I called and the nice guy said I had to click 1 more link. So I went in with re-entry number, found it, and again thought I applied. Went back to check and it says that there's an error. Put in my same SSN, correct re-entry number, and I get an error message. Going into MySSA.Gov it only shows Medicare. The online application process could be more user friendly.

I'm glad I'm not the only one having issues

 

[jldavid47]

Quick follow-up. I got an email at 5:30 this morning telling me that my application had been updated. The benefits letter has the correct starting month and the correct amount, but my account does not yet say whether I am actually going to be paid in February. The payment information says "$0.00 on ," and the benefits latter does not give time specifics like my wife's letter.

Part of that could be because I paid my first quarter Medicare earlier this month. Technically, they should not take out Part B payments for February and March since I have already paid those. I'll wait a few more days to see if they update the benefits letter information. At least I finally got my benefit approved. It only took 16 and a half weeks lol.

 

[georgemoe]

Quick follow-up. I got an email at 5:30 this morning telling me that my application had been updated. The benefits letter has the correct starting month and the correct amount, but my account does not yet say whether I am actually going to be paid in February. The payment information says "$0.00 on ," and the benefits latter does not give time specifics like my wife's letter.

Part of that could be because I paid my first quarter Medicare earlier this month. Technically, they should not take out Part B payments for February and March since I have already paid those. I'll wait a few more days to see if they update the benefits letter information. At least I finally got my benefit approved. It only took 16 and a half weeks lol.

Thanks for the update. My wife is in the same boat with regards to the Part B payment. They will still take out but you will receive a refund for the two month overpayment the same month as the first SS check.

 

[jldavid47]

One more update. I unexpectedly got my first Social Security check deposited yesterday. I wasn't expecting it until the 10th. They did not refund my Medicare over-payments but did not take out Medicare for this month. Since I paid through April 30th (not first quarter as I indicated earlier) I will assume that they will simply not take out payments in March or April either.

I'm glad the Internet is around or I'd be completely clueless about the whats and whys of this process. Well, I'm still pretty clueless about the whys.

 

[MissMolly]

It's been my experience that the refund of the overpaid premiums will show up in your bank account within 2 months. The don't "not take" them from your benefit check, they do an actual deposit to your account.

 

[jldavid47]

It's been my experience that the refund of the overpaid premiums will show up in your bank account within 2 months. The don't "not take" them from your benefit check, they do an actual deposit to your account.

Well, I believe that's what happened for you but that's not what they did for February for me. They simply did not deduct the February Medicare Part B premium. We'll see.

 

[MissMolly]

LOL. Can never second guess the government. They love to keep us in suspense sometimes

 

[Gumby]

I applied the first week of December, with a first check to arrive in mid-March. My SS site still just shows "pending". It is my understanding that they will catch me up if it goes longer than that. I don't urgently need the money anyway.

A quick update - I received my approval today 3/10, so that was ~3 months after I applied. It was delayed a little because I had to send them my passport to verify my citizenship.

 

[jldavid47]

I have an update. Part B was taken out of my Social Security check for March and April even though I had already paid for those months. Yesterday I received a check from the government refunding me those two months. All is well even if it did take a while. I never called them, it just showed up.

 

[RetireeRobert]

I have an update. Part B was taken out of my Social Security check for March and April even though I had already paid for those months. Yesterday I received a check from the government refunding me those two months. All is well even if it did take a while. I never called them, it just showed up.

My (somewhat limited) experience with SSA is they generally get things right, even if a few times it does take awhile.

I do think the SSA is one of the best run government organizations around.