I dropped off for a while but should have posted an update - my apologies.
After seeing the message on my wife's account, on August 26, saying that they had begun processing my wife for spousal benefits on July 17 and that it normally takes 30 days, we got concerned again and called the local office again. This time we were told that we needed to take our marriage certificate into the local office to verify that we are married (we did this three years ago to get Medicare for her - you'd think they would have a record). So I took the certificate and waited 2 hours to see someone. The person I saw copied the certificate and stamped the copy with a verification, then told me that they do not start processing a spousal benefit application until that person's spouse (meaning, me) starts receiving benefits. In all the communications we'd had, no one had told us that (though I did eventually find it on a couple of non-SSA web sites - I think one was AARP). I asked if that meant that they wouldn't process her application till I got my first check, but the rep told me she couldn't discuss anything more about my wife's application, and got up and left.
My benefits were set to start in October, with the first check coming in November. Sure enough, a few days into October we saw that my wife's spousal benefits had been approved, and about a week later we got a letter saying the same. Why this couldn't have been made clear on their web site, or by one of the three people we talked to on the phone, I don't know. But we are all set now, and have had two deposits into our checking accounts.
After seeing the message on my wife's account, on August 26, saying that they had begun processing my wife for spousal benefits on July 17 and that it normally takes 30 days, we got concerned again and called the local office again. This time we were told that we needed to take our marriage certificate into the local office to verify that we are married (we did this three years ago to get Medicare for her - you'd think they would have a record). So I took the certificate and waited 2 hours to see someone. The person I saw copied the certificate and stamped the copy with a verification, then told me that they do not start processing a spousal benefit application until that person's spouse (meaning, me) starts receiving benefits. In all the communications we'd had, no one had told us that (though I did eventually find it on a couple of non-SSA web sites - I think one was AARP). I asked if that meant that they wouldn't process her application till I got my first check, but the rep told me she couldn't discuss anything more about my wife's application, and got up and left.
My benefits were set to start in October, with the first check coming in November. Sure enough, a few days into October we saw that my wife's spousal benefits had been approved, and about a week later we got a letter saying the same. Why this couldn't have been made clear on their web site, or by one of the three people we talked to on the phone, I don't know. But we are all set now, and have had two deposits into our checking accounts.
Statistics: Posted by jkrm — Sat Dec 21, 2024 12:24 pm