I'm hoping someone here may have some insight on what might have gone wrong, or what we should do next. My dad passed away January 21st unexpectedly, and the stress of dealing with Social Security has not made things any easier.
My mom has been retired from work and receiving Disability Benefits for about 5 years. My dad retired from his job and began receiving Social Security (not Disability) about 1 1/2 - 2 years ago. He would have been 62 or 63 when he first started receiving his benefits and 64 when he passed. My mom is 61 currently.
At the beginning of this month, my mom had her appointment with Social Security to go over updating her benefits. She was told in that meeting that she would continue to receive her Disability check and also receive a percentage of my dad's check. She was given the dollar amount to expect for each check in this meeting, and told that she would also receive the one-time Survivor's Benefit. She was told that final approval came from another office, but everything seemed to be in order.
We received a letter yesterday stating that she was entitled to the one-time Survivor's Benefit, but the next paragraph states, "We found that this benefit is the only one you can receive from us at this time." She called the local SS office this morning and was told that she was not getting a portion of my dad's monthly check, but they couldn't tell her why and rushed off the phone.
I checked the status of her benefits application online using the original Claim # she was given, and it shows that a decision has been made for the one-time benefit but that a decision has not been made for the ongoing Spousal Benefits. Is it possible that the letter was automatic and just said she wasn't entitled to another benefit at this time because the other benefit hasn't made it through the review process, or is it more likely that she was denied the Spousal Benefits? What types of issues would cause a denial? We thought income from the life insurance at first, but it seems they would have taken her Disability check instead? We're just trying to get some ideas and get our ducks in a row in order to fight this, or breathe a sigh of relief if we just need to wait for it to process.
The local SS office can't get her in for an appointment for a month, and the only other option is to sit up there for hours daily hoping you can get in. We'll definitely do that if we have to, but I just want to be as prepared as possible. We were pretty blindsided by this letter. Thanks in advance for any help or insight.
My mom has been retired from work and receiving Disability Benefits for about 5 years. My dad retired from his job and began receiving Social Security (not Disability) about 1 1/2 - 2 years ago. He would have been 62 or 63 when he first started receiving his benefits and 64 when he passed. My mom is 61 currently.
At the beginning of this month, my mom had her appointment with Social Security to go over updating her benefits. She was told in that meeting that she would continue to receive her Disability check and also receive a percentage of my dad's check. She was given the dollar amount to expect for each check in this meeting, and told that she would also receive the one-time Survivor's Benefit. She was told that final approval came from another office, but everything seemed to be in order.
We received a letter yesterday stating that she was entitled to the one-time Survivor's Benefit, but the next paragraph states, "We found that this benefit is the only one you can receive from us at this time." She called the local SS office this morning and was told that she was not getting a portion of my dad's monthly check, but they couldn't tell her why and rushed off the phone.
I checked the status of her benefits application online using the original Claim # she was given, and it shows that a decision has been made for the one-time benefit but that a decision has not been made for the ongoing Spousal Benefits. Is it possible that the letter was automatic and just said she wasn't entitled to another benefit at this time because the other benefit hasn't made it through the review process, or is it more likely that she was denied the Spousal Benefits? What types of issues would cause a denial? We thought income from the life insurance at first, but it seems they would have taken her Disability check instead? We're just trying to get some ideas and get our ducks in a row in order to fight this, or breathe a sigh of relief if we just need to wait for it to process.
The local SS office can't get her in for an appointment for a month, and the only other option is to sit up there for hours daily hoping you can get in. We'll definitely do that if we have to, but I just want to be as prepared as possible. We were pretty blindsided by this letter. Thanks in advance for any help or insight.
Survivors Benefits: Spousal Benefits Denied Without Explanation
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