I applied when I was 60 because I could get survivor benefits and as I recall, it was totally painless. I have a SS office nearby and I think I might have made an appt and gone in person? (My memory is spotty because I had to visit the office several time on behalf of some relatives I was helping).

Sorry to hear you're not having a good experience. I remember everyone being quite helpful, although the wait times on the phones were outrageous. And as long as you don't need the money to survive, getting that nice large retroactive check will be fun!

I made an appointment and everything went smoothly. I plan to do that again this year when it's time for me to sign up for Medicare. I found the web site to be problematic, but the in-person counselor was terrific.

It shouldn't be any big deal. At 62, you can begin to take SS. My husband just went and applied at the website and began getting it after he turned 62. My sister and my cousin have also just began taking it at 62, they had absolutely no issues. In fact, my sister's son did it all for her on line. As far as medicare, that I don't know about. My husband is not yet 65.

If you are still working full time, that could be an issue with the amount of money you can earn until you become full retirement age which is not 65 anymore...it is like 66+ depending on when your date of birth is. Before you are full retirement age, you can only earn just over $17.000 or they will deduct $1 for every $2 over that amount, that they will pay you in SS income.

I also went into the SS office and all went smoothly. Took a little bit of time to secure an appointment. You can also go in and wait for an available agent. FYI: I was only going for SS benefits, not Medicare.

I am sorry you are having a difficult time with this. I am 66 and I am pretty sure a few months before turning 65 I created an account with social security. I enrolled in medicare online. I did not start receiving benefits until I turned 66 and for that I went to the local office.

Mine was a little more complicated because I am taking spousal (where I get 1/2 of DH amount) and will let mine grow. For the record, I believe born in 1953 is the last year this is doable. Anyway because of that nuance, I was not able to process this online. To do this I needed some documentation which I did not have with me so I had to make an appointment and return with it. The complication was really my doing. Had I looked online it clearly stated the documents needed

Anyway it all worked out pretty well. No glitches.

I applied at 62, online. Worked like a charm and my checks show up in my bank account like magic. (Just like that $$ disappeared from my paychecks for 40 years!)

We went to an office for an appointment. The staff worker verified what we already knew, but it pays to know all of your options.

Sorry that you are having difficulty, can you go to an office?

I had no problems applying online. Have never been in a SS office.

I meant to add as well that I had actually called and gotten good information on the phone, but wanted to go over options similar to what @eld6161 mentioned and found the in person help was extremely efficient and accurate. I was pleasantly surprised.

Sal, I think our situation is the same, if not similar. I'm short a few points to receive SS benefits so I'm getting spousal. DH waited until he was 65 to apply since he still works.

LONG but worth the read.

I turned 65 in late August.

Before I begin, there are 2 SS offices each an hour away in opposite directions. OKC being one. OKC is closer though but that office is huge. That's why I wanted to do the phone application. The other SS office is in a smallish town & I didn't want to make the drive.

July 30th I called the number from the SS website and got all the information I needed: Get verified copy of marriage license (ML) then call SS back to make make phone appt for my application.

September I received ML and called SS (official phone number). I gave all pertinent information, SS# of spouse, etc, she set up my phone application appt for 10/23. Was told to mail in my ML.

After I hung up I realized I didn't have an address to mail the license. So I called the office in the small town an hour away because I knew the wait time would be short. The guy told me to mail the license to the OKC office since they're the ones who will probably file my claim and do the application.

I mailed ML to the OKC office with a cover letter and all pertinent information.

October 10th I received a call from the Houston office to do my application on the phone. I told the lady I already had a phone appt. set up for the 23rd. She looked it up and said no one recorded it, and for me to call the OKC office to see if they set up a claim and received my ML.

I called the OKC office and was told there was no claim on me but they had a "Lead." Not sure what that is. He said they don't have my ML but "it could still be in the mail room." It had been a month since I mailed it!

I was told a phone appt wouldn't happen until December because they're busy and I should do a "walk-in" to apply. Seriously?

Thank God for DH who told me he did the walk-in at the smaller SS office and he'll take me but we need to get there early to be first in line. Although the town is relatively small, people line up by 9am

This is where it REALLY gets good!

Monday, October 14th we headed out at 7:30 am. Halfway there I told DH I thought today is Columbus Day and aren't federal offices closed? We both cracked up because he knew the court house was closed but didn't even think about the SS office. We turned around and went home. We laughed all day.

Went back three days later on Thursday, October 17th. FTR, DH told me there are only 3 windows there, hence the reason to be first or third in line. Several cars were there with people sitting inside, but we got out and was first in line. Yay!!

Once I checked in with the guard it was just seconds before I saw an agent. Yay!!

During this process I turned around and the room was full of people waiting. Wow.

I had the worker read my documentation of what previously happened so she'd understand it better.

Worker: What was it you needed to do today?

Me: Apply for SS and Medicare. (they do both at the same time)

Worker: Do you have an appointment?

Me: No, the OKC office told me to come in as a walk-in.

Worker: Well, the OKC office doesn't know how understaffed we are and we take appointments and only see walk-in's if we have time. We can't see you today.

After much restraint on my part to cuss like a sailor she made an appointment for me the first week of November and that my claim WILL be retroactive from September. I gave her the extra copy of the verified ML and she got it in the system, so that's taken care of.

So there you have it. The good thing is since it's retroactive and the deadline for Medicare is 11/7, even if I'm sick and miss the appointment I still have time.

A perfect example of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

I filed at age 62, online, no troubles at all.

Oak, did you try to apply online?

DH applied online and didn't have any problems.

I've found appointments take much longer. We do have one scheduled for this week and received a confirmation letter to that effect. SS appears to have miscalculated dh's benefit amount (too high) and also my spousal benefit (too low).

We've done walk-ins a couple times. Usually means a couple hours out of our day.

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A perfect example of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing.

I'll admit that is sometimes the case and can be frustrating. Dh was taking SS for about 7 months and then decided to go back to work. That meant repaying his and my spousal benefits. Easy enough until SS deposited my repayment back in my checking account. I spent half a year trying to get that remedied. It still hasn't been resolved. Hope you get it all straightened out.

I applied online at 62 and had no problems. Automatically received Medicare at age 65, and only had to choose my prescription coverage. I've found that local offices, large or small, are pretty useless. Sadly, it's been my experience that the people who work there have no clue about how to do there jobs.

Hubby and I also applied online with no problems. In fact, someone from Soc Sec called hub to ask if he was a veteran, a box he didn't check because he was in the reserves for six years and isn't eligible for other vet benefits. Men in his situation are eligible for a Soc Sec boost though, and the woman filing his claim knew it and contacted him to increase his check. Good for Social Security!

Social Security has been working flawlessly for us. So has Medicare.

The first thing I did was try to apply online, but it was complicated because I was applying for spousal benefits where I had to show proof of marriage. I searched all over that site and decided a phone application would be much easier.

If I wasn't applying for spousal benefits it would have been a piece of cake.

The appointment on Nov 4th is early and as I said, it being a small town the wait should be much better than if I went to OKC.

When I tried to apply last Thursday, two employees had called in sick.

Here's how naive I am about SS benefits. I knew I didn't have enough points to receive SS, and I was angry. One day I had a rant with a friend about how no woman should EVER be a STAHM and housewife. I silently fumed for a long long time.

Until the first SS lady told me I would get a nice check every month along with insurance because of DH, and since he waited til 65 his check is bigger. :)

What were you angry about, since you knew you don't have enough points? I too made the choice to stay home with the kids, a choice I'd make again. I agree it is a sort of penalty we pay for a choice we made, but why are/were you mad about it?

Oakley, same thing happened to me. I was told I could walk in, so I did and signed in, Waited a long time until my name was called then the woman at the desk said I didn’t have an appointment so she couldn’t help me. I said but I’m sitting right here and it won’t take long. Nope, no appointment, no help. Then I made an appointment at a different office where the woman was very helpful although since I was applying for my ex’s benefit I needed a divorce certificate so I had to trot to the courthouse and get that. The woman at SS told me where to go and it went smoothly. What a rigamarole! Should be easier.

By the way, I collected half of my ex’s benefit until I turned 70.5 and now my monthly payment is much more than if I had begun to collect mine at 65. Something to consider if you can.

I collected on my deceased husband's account from my age 60 to 70. Then SS notified me that if I switched to collecting on my own account (since I was now 70 and hadn't collected my own), I would be entitled to more $ each month. I appreciated that they let me know that, as I wouldn't have thought about applying for my own benefits.

I did it online. Easy peasy.

Cyn, did you apply for spousal benefits and send in your marriage license online which can't be done? Of course it's "easy peasy" if you didn't have to do that.

Ded and Oly, the benefits you got in your name, were they from working and collecting enough points?

I worked full time before the kids were born, part time off and on when they were little, and still didn't make enough points. Kind of humiliating. lol. I don't like depending on a man, and Sheesh, that's why I was angry. Had I known I wouldn't receive my own benefits I probably would have kept working a while longer.

Ugh, sorry, Oakley.

My full retirement age is 67, so I am a long ways off.

OTOH, related to Social Security, DH has to get a new card so he can get real ID for his driver's license--he washed his old card long ago and it disintegrated, and in our state, you have to go in person.

G, I'm thinking about contacting my representative about how understaffed the SS offices are, and the reason it's so important is because the majority of their clients are disabled and a bit elderly. A very stressful situation for some...like me. lol

Oakley, yes my benefits were from a wage slave for many years! Money I earned myself.

Oakley, yes. After I turned 70, I switched from my deceased husband's benefits to my own benefits, racked up from working and paying into my own account.