Delays At The SSA?

I'll be following this with interest because my wife will be applying for spousal benefit later this year.  Keep us informed.

We have the telephone interview for my wife’s spousal benefit this week. I keep telling her to apply and then just forget about it for a few months unless we hear something.

An easy question for those that have done the spousal benefit- is it the primary ( me, US)or the spouse (UK) that is actually applying? The responses I have received to my inquiries so far are confusing and don’t seem to match the questions I asked.

Good question, one that I want answering also.  My wife is already receiving SS but her benefits are less than half of what mine would be at my FRA.  Once my application for SS is being paid (hopefully next month) I want to see how to get her benefits bumped up.

I think it will be up to her to apply.

https://blog.ssa.gov/do-you-qualify-for-social-security-spouses-benefits-2/

Consider this example: Sandy is eligible for a monthly retirement benefit of $1,000 and a spouse’s benefit of $1,250. If she waits for Social Security until her full retirement age, she will receive her own $1,000 retirement benefit. We will add $250 from her spouse’s benefit, for a total of $1,250 a month. Sandy only gets an additional spouse’s benefit because her own benefit is less than half her spouse’s full retirement age benefit.

person in yellow shirt reviewing information on a laptop while sitting on a couch
How to apply online
Want to apply for your retirement or your spouse’s benefit or both? Are you at least 61 years and 9 months old? If you answered yes, visit our website to get started today. If you and your spouse both have a personal my Social Security account, you can view an estimate of the benefits you could receive based on your spouse’s record.

Just checked online and my application is now being reviewed by an agent in Baltimore. Yay, the FBU in London has kicked it back to the USA. Definitely feeling hopeful now!!

[Note: I have moved these two posts from the WEP thread, because the situation now more appropriately belongs here, and will likely help more people if it's posted here]

Brief recap: I should have been WEP'ed since April 2023, but despite multiple attempts to get it sorted, it didn't happen - until December, ironically. Then, I realised my SS had been "suspended". Below is a brief update and advice for people communicating with FBU and sending forms to FBU.]

Post 1: I've just logged into my SSA account to the home page where it states what your last payment was and what your next payment will be, only to see the word "SUSPENDED" in red, and text stating, "! Payments Suspended You are not currently receiving Social Security payments." No explanation why, and I haven't received any further letters (but based on past experience, I tend to receive letters about 2 months after they were supposedly sent).

It's just the gift that keeps on giving. Back to trying to call FBU, I guess.

[Edited to add: I also looked at the "past payments" page, and at the top there's a section headed "Overpayments". In this section it shows "Overpayment Balance: $1,542.00", and "Status:  $0.00 / month is being withheld from your benefit payment.".

As they say in the US, Go Figure. <<scratches head>>

Post 2: Update <<groan>> I feel like these comments belong in at least two threads (this one, and the "Delays at the SSA" thread - and probably also the "Secrets for contacting the FBU" thread.

Anyway, as per my comment above,  after receiving no SSA this month and not knowing why my SSA has been "Suspended", I received a letter this morning, from Maryland <<groan, again>> dated January 30th (I'm actually gobsmacked it has arrived within a week, as letters from MD usually arrive a month or two after they were supposedly written).

The letter starts, "Based on the information we have, we cannot pay benefits beginning January 2025"

It continues to explain that this is because I have not returned the form "Report to United States Social Security Administration" - not a particularly helpful description. Thanks to Google, I found that this is form 7162. However, I DID fill in this form, I sent it to FBU last November, and have the confirmation of delivery! I also sent the same form last July!

This is not the first time I have submitted a form to SSA (FBU) and have subsequently received further requests for the same form.

I've given up trying to call them and will fill in their Contact Us form to ask for help. I'll keep everyone updated.

Piece of advice for anyone sending a form to FBU: There is no point sending it "signed for", as nobody signs for letters delivered to FBU. Better to send it recorded delivery, as you then have confirmation that it was delivered.

For those applying:

We had the phone interview for my wife’s spousal benefits. It took about half an hour.
They are going to send a request for documents which will be an original copy of our marriage certificate.

Roughly two months since initial enquiry sent, which is about the same as when I applied last year.

For those applying:

We had the phone interview for my wife’s spousal benefits. It took about half an hour.
They are going to send a request for documents which will be an original copy of our marriage certificate.

Roughly two months since initial enquiry sent, which is about the same as when I applied last year.

That's pretty good in the grand scheme of things.

I can't remember if you've mentioned this already but was your wife's initial contact for spousal benefit via the FBU website, telephone or SSA online?

Our initial inquiry was via the website.

The acknowledgment and request for documents arrived in the post two days later. We need to make two corrections so we emailed the fbu yesterday.  Haven’t received a reply yet, if there is nothing by tomorrow, which admittedly would be quick, I’m thinking of sending a hard copy of the email along with the marriage certificate as there is a ten day deadline and a special delivery letter should get to London quickly from here.

[Note: I have moved these two posts from the WEP thread, because the situation now more appropriately belongs here, and will likely help more people if it's posted here]

Brief recap: I should have been WEP'ed since April 2023, but despite multiple attempts to get it sorted, it didn't happen - until December, ironically. Then, I realised my SS had been "suspended". Below is a brief update and advice for people communicating with FBU and sending forms to FBU.]

Post 1: I've just logged into my SSA account to the home page where it states what your last payment was and what your next payment will be, only to see the word "SUSPENDED" in red, and text stating, "! Payments Suspended You are not currently receiving Social Security payments." No explanation why, and I haven't received any further letters (but based on past experience, I tend to receive letters about 2 months after they were supposedly sent).

It's just the gift that keeps on giving. Back to trying to call FBU, I guess.

[Edited to add: I also looked at the "past payments" page, and at the top there's a section headed "Overpayments". In this section it shows "Overpayment Balance: $1,542.00", and "Status:  $0.00 / month is being withheld from your benefit payment.".

As they say in the US, Go Figure. <<scratches head>>

Post 2: Update <<groan>> I feel like these comments belong in at least two threads (this one, and the "Delays at the SSA" thread - and probably also the "Secrets for contacting the FBU" thread.

Anyway, as per my comment above,  after receiving no SSA this month and not knowing why my SSA has been "Suspended", I received a letter this morning, from Maryland <<groan, again>> dated January 30th (I'm actually gobsmacked it has arrived within a week, as letters from MD usually arrive a month or two after they were supposedly written).

The letter starts, "Based on the information we have, we cannot pay benefits beginning January 2025"

It continues to explain that this is because I have not returned the form "Report to United States Social Security Administration" - not a particularly helpful description. Thanks to Google, I found that this is form 7162. However, I DID fill in this form, I sent it to FBU last November, and have the confirmation of delivery! I also sent the same form last July!

This is not the first time I have submitted a form to SSA (FBU) and have subsequently received further requests for the same form.

I've given up trying to call them and will fill in their Contact Us form to ask for help. I'll keep everyone updated.

Piece of advice for anyone sending a form to FBU: There is no point sending it "signed for", as nobody signs for letters delivered to FBU. Better to send it recorded delivery, as you then have confirmation that it was delivered.

Just a mini-update (that is related to the "delay" theme). I've just sent letters to SSA Maryland AND FBU London, with (a) previous two copies of form 7162, sent to FBU in July and October 2024; (b) confirmation of delivery of both of these forms; (c) a "new" copy of form 7162; and (d) a form SSA-561-U2 (appeal of a decision - they suspended my retirement benefits). Plus a cover letter. I highlighted the most important information on each form (signature, date), and hand-wrote an explanation at the top of all copies ("copy sent July 22nd 2024", etc.), to help them navigate the various bits of information I sent them.

Why is this relevant? Because through this long drawn out process (almost 2 years now), I've realised that you can't assume that a form has been processed by FBU, and that you have to keep copies of all communications, confirmation of delivery, etc.

The annoying thing is that you can't even ask FBU to confirm they have received and processed a form (they just respond to say, "Sorry, we get too many forms to supply this information"), and the only way you find out that a form hasn't been processed is when you receive a letter from SSA in the US to say they are still waiting on the form.

This isn't the only form that I have had to send more than once to FBU. I don't know if it's cutbacks or what, but they just seem to get more and more inefficient. Although it might over-complicate things, I might even suggest sending any documentation to both places. Originally (in July 2022), FBU instructed me to send any forms to them, not to SSA in the US, because then it will be processed faster, and they scan and send to SSA in the US anyway. Or not, as the case may be.

Update on the "delays" topic - and good news (sort of) for a change. I'll just post the timeline below rather than a paragraph of prose. As background, generally speaking, I've encountered a series of delays and mess-ups by SSA since April 2022 when I was incorrectly WEP'ed for receiving UK state pension (I wasn't due to start UK state pension until April 2023). This was refunded (eventually) but then I wasn't WEP'ed the following year, when I should have been, and this (not being WEP'ed) continued for almost 2 years.

Early February this year (2025), I realised I had not received my January 2025 SSA retirement payment, with no letter, no message or no other explanation. On checking my MySSA account, I saw that the January payment, and subsequent payments, had been "suspended", although there was no explanation why on the account.

A few days later, unusually quickly, I received a letter from SSA Maryland explaining that my payments had been suspended for not returning form 7162 (I had previously sent this form twice, tracked and signed for).

As above, I therefore sent a package of information on February 10th including an appeal form, to both FBU London and SSA Maryland, tracked and signed for.  Again miraculously, the tracked letter was signed for at FBU the following day (February 11th).

On February 21st, I logged in to MySSA and saw that I will be paid for February (usually arrives on about the 3rd of the following month). No indication of when the decision was made, and no messages regarding it ... but bottom line is that the situation was sorted out (sort of, see below) in about a week!

Today (February 26th) I received a letter from SSA Maryland, explaining that, as above, I will be paid for February, and every month thereafter. It also explained that the January payment was being used to offset previous overpayments (WEP-related, connected with the 2+ years of previous errors and miscommunications). So, rather than pay the incorrectly suspended January payment, they are putting it towards the WEP overpayment. I still owe a few hundred $$, but don't know when or how that will be deducted (but have been assuming it has been skimmed off the top, so to speak).

Bottom line, then, is that SSA CAN work quickly when they want to. I don't know if the above was spurred by my letter being received by FBU London, or being received by SSA Maryland. I'm a bit miffed that they withheld a chunk of money, but pleased that my payments will resume next week.

When sending forms and communications to SSA, it may be worth sending to both SSA in the US and to FBU London.

Great news, well done.

Since my application has been in limbo for many weeks (Nov 12) at step 2 waiting on an agent in Baltimore I girded my loins at 4pm my time (11am EST) and using my Skype account called the number for the Baltimore office which I expect is a general number. I was on hold for 3 hours and 16 minutes before a most helpful lady answered and after 10 minutes talking with her I believe she is going to get the application out of the bottom of the bucket it appears to be in. She said she could see no reason at all why it hadn’t been processed as they had all the information they need. She checked that all my details are correct, address in England, my UK mobile phone number etc.  She said she is going to send a message to get this rolling and I should expect a benefit verification letter within 20 days or a request for more information.

Before hanging up, I made sure to tell her that I know she and her colleagues are working hard in difficult circumstances, that they are doing a great job and that I really appreciate all of their efforts. I reckon my 3+ hours on hold is nothing compared to what they are going through right now.

Since my application has been in limbo for many weeks (Nov 12) at step 2 waiting on an agent in Baltimore I girded my loins at 4pm my time (11am EST) and using my Skype account called the number for the Baltimore office which I expect is a general number. I was on hold for 3 hours and 16 minutes before a most helpful lady answered and after 10 minutes talking with her I believe she is going to get the application out of the bottom of the bucket it appears to be in. She said she could see no reason at all why it hadn’t been processed as they had all the information they need. She checked that all my details are correct, address in England, my UK mobile phone number etc.  She said she is going to send a message to get this rolling and I should expect a benefit verification letter within 20 days or a request for more information.

Before hanging up, I made sure to tell her that I know she and her colleagues are working hard in difficult circumstances, that they are doing a great job and that I really appreciate all of their efforts. I reckon my 3+ hours on hold is nothing compared to what they are going through right now.

Well done for taking on that challenge.  I can't imagine being on hold for over 3 hours.  I presume you were given your position in the queue so that you knew you'd get through eventually?

BTW, I see that Microsoft are retiring Skype in May 2025.  Out of curiosity, what would you have done if you didn't have the Skype telephone option?

I'm eternally grateful that I can call Fidelity on a free number from the UK.

Well done for taking on that challenge.  I can't imagine being on hold for over 3 hours.  I presume you were given your position in the queue so that you knew you'd get through eventually?

BTW, I see that Microsoft are retiring Skype in May 2025.  Out of curiosity, what would you have done if you didn't have the Skype telephone option?

I'm eternally grateful that I can call Fidelity on a free number from the UK.

No indication of position in the queue, just popped an earphone in my ear and continued usual business like making and eating dinner etc.  This was easy compared to my video interview to get an id.3 account for an IRS account, that was over 6 hours. Considering that we still pay US taxes we, overseas Americans, don’t get much for our money. At least there was a phone queue. As I reported before, while my claim was still with the FBU in London I called them 45 times one morning and still never got through to anyone.

This was a toll free number with Skype, and for when Skype goes away I now have a US number with Talkatone. I just hope it works as well as Skype, which has been great for me over the years.

Since my application has been in limbo for many weeks (Nov 12) at step 2 waiting on an agent in Baltimore I girded my loins at 4pm my time (11am EST) and using my Skype account called the number for the Baltimore office which I expect is a general number. I was on hold for 3 hours and 16 minutes before a most helpful lady answered and after 10 minutes talking with her I believe she is going to get the application out of the bottom of the bucket it appears to be in. She said she could see no reason at all why it hadn’t been processed as they had all the information they need. She checked that all my details are correct, address in England, my UK mobile phone number etc.  She said she is going to send a message to get this rolling and I should expect a benefit verification letter within 20 days or a request for more information.

Before hanging up, I made sure to tell her that I know she and her colleagues are working hard in difficult circumstances, that they are doing a great job and that I really appreciate all of their efforts. I reckon my 3+ hours on hold is nothing compared to what they are going through right now.

WHOOP WHOOP

It only took 4 days after that mammoth phone call.  I just checked online and my application is now approved with the first payment due the start of April.

WHOOP WHOOP

It only took 4 days after that mammoth phone call.  I just checked online and my application is now approved with the first payment due the start of April.

Brilliant! And presumably WEP not even part of the discussion?