Anyone know anything about Social Security?

[iheartm]

Odd situation here. M was collecting SS which was deposited into our joint checking account towards the end of every month. He died in the early part of the month so SS did not deposit for that month. I totally get that. In January I went through the forms and phone calls to get the whopping $255. death benefit. That check arrived a month ago and that was the end of it. Or so I thought. 

Today, my personal checking account (not joint) that I've had for years shows a deposit from the SSA for the exact amount that M was collecting. What I do not understand is that I never gave SS my routing and checking account information ever plus I don't think I am eligible to collect his benefits because I am too young and not disabled. Googling suggests these are survivor's benefits but I can't find any information about that anywhere. From what I have seen, if you become a widow, you can collect your deceased spouse's benefits starting at age 50 if you are disabled, or at 60 if you are not disabled but they will be about 70% of what the spouse was getting because you are taking them early. The deposit from today is for the full amount that he was receiving.

I will call them next week as I'm not up to it right now. Having a really hard time these days. Just wanted to ask if anyone else had something like this happen 4 months after death and deposited into an account you never registered with SS.

[kayc]

They're changing the rules soon so I would call them and get the straight scoop from them.

[iheartm]

I read online somewhere that a letter typically accompanies a deposit like this and the letter usually lags behind the deposit. I am going to wait a couple of weeks and see what happens. Any idea how the rules are being changed?

[kayc]

It's way too complicated, something to do with survivors and also filing off spouse while yours accrues, they're taking that ability away.  I don't know all of the changes.

[Gwenivere]

I cancelled Steve's disability payments right away.  I got the huge $250 death benefit too.  I had to wait til I was 60 to get survivors benefits.  It consisted of having our marriage license, my birth certificate and his death certificate.  It was then an interview on the phone.  You can do this 3 months before you turn 60.  I had to take all the paperwork to the SS office to be scanned.  

I'd definitely call if you are still getting his disability because that will have to be returned.  Had I not told them, they would have kept making the deposit.  How they got your personal account is really odd.  

Tough stuff to deal with tho.  I had to pick days I could handle it.  Dealing with grief and the government is not a complimentary mix.

[MartyT]

Also, if you can arrange it, and when you feel up to it, I'd suggest meeting in person with a SS representative at your local SS branch office. These people are up-to-date and knowledgeable about the services available to SS beneficiaries, and in my experience they can be very helpful. If you work with SS online or on the telephone, it can be quite daunting and confusing. I'd also suggest asking a friend whom you trust to accompany you to the SS office, so you have an extra pair of ears with you. I'm so sorry that, on top of everything else, you have all of this to deal with 

[iheartm]

Just to clarify: When M passed away, I called SSA and notified them of his passing. They stopped his benefits immediately. We are now 4 months later and this random deposit was into my own personal checking account, not the joint account that he used to get his deposits put into and for the exact amount he was getting. That joint account is still active. I am going to wait a week and see if I get a letter. If I do not, I will get in touch with them in some way. It's very strange.

[kayc]

Personally, I'd be way more comfortable going into the social security office.  You don't get a record of a phone call to prove you called them or what they told you.

Good luck and let us know what you find out!  I didn't get benefits because my husband wasn't on disability and we were too young at the time.

[iheartm]

3 minutes ago, kayc said:

Personally, I'd be way more comfortable going into the social security office.  You don't get a record of a phone call to prove you called them or what they told you.

Good luck and let us know what you find out!  I didn't get benefits because my husband wasn't on disability and we were too young at the time.

The weird thing is that he was not on disability. He was just collecting his regular Social Security payments. I will keep you posted.

[kayc]

Thanks!  Social Security is one of the most bizarre things to figure out, their rules are so complex and don't always enlist common sense.

[iheartm]

Just updating that I received a letter in the mail that said, "You will soon receive [a payment]" because M was owed money. Whatever that means. In any case, as least I have a letter to back it up.

Who cares anyway. I don't care about the money. I don't care about anything. He's not here. I just don't care about anything anymore.

[WolfsKat]

I'm confused, as well.  I went in to apply for that whopping death benefit (sarcasm) as I knew I had to.  At that time, the young lady told me that I should make a appointment to come in before my upcoming 60th birthday In August so that I can be advised as to "my options".....I know nothing about social security stuff.  My Connor was receiving Social Security disability payments for about 4 years before he died.  I will make the appointment, I suppose.....but not sure what these "options" are.......all I wanted to do at the time I went in was to file and get the heck out!

[iheartm]

WolfsKat:

If you are a widow, you can collect a portion of your deceased spouse's Social Security payments when you turn 60, I think it's about 70 percent. You will get more if you wait to collect until later on so you have to consider the timing. Usually, you have to wait until you are 62 but the widow thing changes that.  You will need to provide your marriage license and other identification and cannot apply online for those benefits. That is why the person told you to visit an office. It probably takes a few months to kick in so they ask you to begin the process a few months before you turn 60.

Gwenivere (she posts here) applied a few months before her 60th. If she sees this thread, she will probably reply.

I do not know anything about SS Disability so how that enters the equation I'm not sure. It is important though that you go and speak to them because they will be able to tell you immediately what you are entitled to and when you can begin collecting it.

[kayc]

A friend of mine, when she turned 60, collects $1686/mo. from her deceased EX-husband!   Go figure.  I was married 23 years and get nothing because he's alive.  They were married 10 years I think.  She said he made about $50/hour in AK, so not everyone will get that much.

[Gwenivere]

When you turn 60, you can get survivors benefits.  These are not related to disability benefits that are received by the spouse when they were alive.  The survivor benefits are lower at 60 than full benefits at 65.  I opted for them at 60 to help with paying for health insurance.  Those are the only options I am aware of and I talked with SS in depth about it.  I thought it would be very confusing but a couple of trips to the local office was quite easy.  I took our birth certificates, marriage license and his death certificate.  Don't think they needed the birth stuff, but better to take anything relevant and not need it.  After I did that, they scanned everything in and a couple months before my birthday you have a phone interview which is just verifying info you already gave them, yes or no answers and about 20 minutes.   I only had one hitch because our marriage license had some white out because of a mistake and had to call he state of Nevada and get one that was corrected.  So that made for the 2nd trip to the office.  They have to see the raised seal on certificates.

Hope that helps.

 

[KarenK]

I am older than most of you, and began collecting my SS at age 62. Ron had been on SS Disability for years. When he turned 66, his payments were converted to regular SS, same amount. His payments were higher than mine. When he died, a portion of his payments were added to mine to equal the difference. I also received one unexpected deposit with a letter of explanation that he was owed money. Never did figure out why.

[mittam99]

Tammy was on Social Security disability. When I turned 60 last May, I applied for survivors benefits. At 60, you receive 71% of whatever your spouse was getting. Now, in my case, I still work. Basically, any dollar you earn over $15,700 a year reduces benefits. For every dollar you earn over the limit, SS takes away 50 cents.

With my severely reduced benefits, I only receive a few checks a year. My goal is to work 'til full retirement age (66 for me) and then switch over to my own benefits.

Here is the survivor benefits guide you can download direct from Social Security.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10084.pdf

Hope this info helps.

[iPraiseHim]

My wife paid over $40K in Social security taxes over her working lifetime. However,  since she was disabled the last six years, she didn't qualify for SS disability.  It was changed her the last year she was alive but the paperwork was too much to figure out.  Know SS tells me I can collect $300 a month now if I don't make over $15,700.  It's not worth it.  She definitely lost on the SS lottery.  Shalom

[WolfsKat]

On ‎3‎/‎28‎/‎2016 at 8:40 PM, mittam99 said:

Tammy was on Social Security disability. When I turned 60 last May, I applied for survivors benefits. At 60, you receive 71% of whatever your spouse was getting. Now, in my case, I still work. Basically, any dollar you earn over $15,700 a year reduces benefits. For every dollar you earn over the limit, SS takes away 50 cents.

With my severely reduced benefits, I only receive a few checks a year. My goal is to work 'til full retirement age (66 for me) and then switch over to my own benefits.

Here is the survivor benefits guide you can download direct from Social Security.

https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10084.pdf

Hope this info helps.

Thank you so much, Mitch!

 

[mittam99]

You're very welcome. Social Security is confusing enough but survivors benefits even more so.