Delays At The SSA?

Been out of the loop for a while so thought I should give an update.  There is no update!

Still waiting for my SS benefit to be WEP'd.  Forms were submitted in Aug 2023 via the FBU.  I've emailed the FBU periodically - they say they request an update from the SSA but I never get one.  This is getting silly because I've been overpaid since Sept/Oct 2023.

@1penelope1 - sorry I missed your post.  Did you get sorted?  TBH I can't remember the exact process I went through to get a SSA online account, but it involved a video interview with a person at ID.me where I had to hold up various photo IDs to the camera.

Thanks for the update, but sorry to hear about the lack of progress. I’m certainly not looking forward to a load of similar aggravating delays when I apply for SS later this year.

Thanks for the update, but sorry to hear about the lack of progress. I’m certainly not looking forward to a load of similar aggravating delays when I apply for SS later this year.

It's certainly an exercise in patience.  On the plus side, money arrives like clockwork into my UK bank - no international money transfer required.  FYI, one thing I would do differently is, when the SSA finally approve your benefit, not to have it backdated.  That can result in a fairly large lump sum (depending on how far back they go due to their own delays) and could theoretically bump you into a higher UK tax bracket if you're not careful - especially if you have other sources of income.  You'll get slightly more per month by not backdating but not a large lump sum that can mess up your careful tax planning.  That happened to me.  Admittedly it was only for the first year, but it's worth bearing in mind.

It's certainly an exercise in patience.  On the plus side, money arrives like clockwork into my UK bank - no international money transfer required.  FYI, one thing I would do differently is, when the SSA finally approve your benefit, not to have it backdated.  That can result in a fairly large lump sum (depending on how far back they go due to their own delays) and could theoretically bump you into a higher UK tax bracket if you're not careful - especially if you have other sources of income.  You'll get slightly more per month by not backdating but not a large lump sum that can mess up your careful tax planning.  That happened to me.  Admittedly it was only for the first year, but it's worth bearing in mind.

Good advice, thanks.

Just reverting back to the original topic and my own experience of dealing with SS in a local SS office in Santa Fe New Mexico vs SS in Baltimore vs the FBU in London.

When preparing for my future retirement benefit application for my SS back in 2017 I reviewed my Social Security earnings record (at the time I had 9 years of income from 1986 to 1994) and I noted that there was an error in 1993 whereby my earnings were significantly under recorded - although my Federal Tax Return recorded the correct amount.

I did some work in New Mexico back in 2017 (so that I could get to the magical 40 SS credits) and while I was there visited the local SS office to try and resolve it - a total waste of time - they weren't interested and said to wait until I apply for retirement benefits.

I followed up with multiple letters to the international unit in Baltimore - and drew a total blank - never even received an acknowledgement. As it was so long ago that the error occured, I thought I may be time barred and that it was just too difficult for them - but it was their error and not mine.

Finally, when applying for benefits with the FBU in London a couple of years ago I asked them if they could help  - they were super helpful - I was able to supply them with my W-2's from 1993 and my federal tax return from the same year (what an anorak I am, I know for keeping them  ) - FBU resolved it within just a few days and my earnings record was corrected - it made a difference (with my wife's pension also) of circa $45 per month - not to be sniffed at for all the aggravation.
   

Now nine months since I submitted my forms.  I would hope that when they finally catch up they'll recover the overpayment by reducing my benefit (as well as reducing due to WEP) rather than asking for a lump sum repayment.  That would be unfair because I've already paid UK tax on that overpayment.

Now nine months since I submitted my forms.  I would hope that when they finally catch up they'll recover the overpayment by reducing my benefit (as well as reducing due to WEP) rather than asking for a lump sum repayment.  That would be unfair because I've already paid UK tax on that overpayment.

Although paying an overpayment amount as a lump sum would reduce your current year UK tax liability - depends on your own circumstances and what your top rate of UK tax is. I think you could also contemplate re-opening an earlier year UK self assessment return (done online with HMRC) and claiming UK tax back that way .

Although paying an overpayment amount as a lump sum would reduce your current year UK tax liability - depends on your own circumstances and what your top rate of UK tax is. I think you could also contemplate re-opening an earlier year UK self assessment return (done online with HMRC) and claiming UK tax back that way .

Thanks.  I wasn't aware that you could amend previous years' SA.

Now nine months since I submitted my forms.  I would hope that when they finally catch up they'll recover the overpayment by reducing my benefit (as well as reducing due to WEP) rather than asking for a lump sum repayment.  That would be unfair because I've already paid UK tax on that overpayment.

From my experience, this is correct (they will reduce payments until everything catches up). This happened to me when SSA erroneously started WEP-ing my US SSA pension at age 65, on the assumption that I was receiving UK state pension. (On a side note, in conversations with FBU, they said that SSA "keep doing that" with UK citizens even though they know that UK state pension no longer starts at age 65.

Anyway, to your point above, they didn't start WEP-ing until halfway through the year (at about age 65.5), and at that point they paid reduced US SSA at first, and then zero US SSA for a few months. I was not asked to repay a lump sum.

After much hoo-ha and inconvenience, I managed to get them to correct the error, and received a lump sum repayment. By that time, I was just about to turn age 66 - when I *should* have started being WEP'ed. Now, almost 16 months on, I'm still receiving full US-SSA and fruitlessly trying to get the WEP process re-started. When they finally get their fingers out, I'm assuming I'll simply receive zero payments for several months, until everything catches up.