Workshop help mom get Money from S.S.A. Widow(er)s Indexing Computation (WINDEX)

[MiltonH552882]

Hey Folks

Yes my family recommends to you (widows or widowers) very much checking your S.S.A.  Widow(er)s Indexing Computation (WINDEX). The 3By3 National Campaign Survey offered my mother help with her survival benefits after my dad passed away. I will start from the letter recently, in April 2026. The folks over at 3By3 National Campaign Survey sent my mother a notice about her surviving spouse benefits.

My dad died before age sixty two (62). My mom, the surviving spouse, became eligible for benefits after 1985. My family went to a free senior workshop and educational thing providing free education. Educating the public on subjects useful to the individual and beneficial to the community is what the 3By3 National Campaign Survey does, including on survivor benefits.

The workshop was just to educate mom on how to check that the surviving spouse benefits was being calculated more in line with those whose spouses died at a later age. The 3By3 National Campaign Survey instructor said the SSA is required to pay the higher of the standard Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) calculation or the WINDEX Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). The folks at 3By3 National Campaign Survey didn't get into mom's personal numbers because she likes her privacy, but they pointed her in the right direction like a caring friend. They helped her determine if the SSA applied the WINDEX (Widowers Indexing Computation) to survivor benefits by reviewing her Notice of Award letter for specific technical language. Some others they helped by using the SSA’s online Detailed Calculator to manually simulate the PIA calculation based on the deceased's earnings record.

He explained to mom instead of indexing dad's (the deceased worker's) earnings to the year of death, something at SSA called WINDEX uses a later year. This allows more of dad's (the worker's) earnings to be adjusted upwards to keep pace with wage growth. He said it's a special, alternative computation used only for the widow(er)'s benefit rate.

Its purpose is to ensure beneficiaries are not penalized because a spouse died young.

Well, lo and behold the 3By3 National Campaign Survey sent my mom a beautiful flier that said, "With Love We Remember You."

The Widowers Indexing Computation (WINDEX) at the Social Security Administration (SSA) was not applied to certain cases, resulting in lower benefits. WINDEX increases benefits by calculating the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) using the year the surviving spouse turns 60 (or when the worker would have turned 62) rather than the earlier year of the husband's death, allowing for higher wage indexing and better bend points in the benefit formula.

The Inspector General estimated that, because SSA employees did not always apply this formula, thousands of widows and widowers were underpaid, sometimes by hundreds of dollars a year, according to a March 2026 audit.

Based on the information we discussed at the workshop, you are eligible for a back due amount.

An Investigation Discovered Massive Payment Mistakes at the SSA.

We at the 3By3 National Campaign Survey rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. And in your specific case we relied on the information we examined from the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. The Widow(er) Beneficiaries Potentially Eligible for Higher Monthly Benefit Amount report finding at https://oig.ssa.gov/assets/uploads/032409.pdf

You are 1 of over 8,000 widows and widowers who were underpaid part of $50.4 million. The underpayment was due to SSA calculation errors.

According to a new report, you are one of the people who lost $114 million in additional benefits due to bad advice from SSA staff about when to claim.

The S.S.A. agency says it is working on corrective action to fix these errors.

Contact your local social security office. Bring your relevant paper work.

Based on actions taken in 2025 and 2026, President Trump’s accountability-focused executive orders (including guidance returning to Execute Order 13839 principles in 2025) aim to accelerate the removal of federal employees for poor performance, such as repeated SSA calculation errors or improper advice. These policies, combined with the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are designed to significantly shorten the process for disciplining or firing Social Security Administration (SSA) staff. 

Note: According to a March 2025 memo, some agencies are reviewing policies following a new 2025 Executive Order (EO 14171), which revoked the 2021 rescission and is causing a return to policies from earlier orders like 13839. 

https://www.opm.gov/chcoc/latest-memos/guidance-on-executive-order-exclusions-from-federal-labor-man...

This information is provided to you and your family by us at The 3By3 National Campaign Survey, and it is intended to ensure you receive the money you deserve.

Sincerely    

All of us at        

The 3By3 National Campaign Survey My family greatly appreciates the help from The 3 By 3 National Campaign Survey.

Yours will, too. Milt Hollinger

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[Saturday 5/16/26]

Unfortunately AARP is off on the weekends, so we are STUCK with this SPAMMER until Monday. To be safe, your decision - I would NOT "click" on any LINKS in their post or CONTACT them.

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➡️[*** MILTON @MiltonH552882 wrote:

Hey Folks

Yes my family recommends to you (widows or widowers) very much checking your S.S.A.  Widow(er)s Indexing Computation (WINDEX). The 3By3 National Campaign Survey offered my mother help with her survival benefits after my dad passed away. I will start from the letter recently, in April 2026. The folks over at 3By3 National Campaign Survey sent my mother a notice about her surviving spouse benefits.

My dad died before age sixty two (62). My mom, the surviving spouse, became eligible for benefits after 1985. My family went to a free senior workshop and educational thing providing free education. Educating the public on subjects useful to the individual and beneficial to the community is what the 3By3 National Campaign Survey does, including on survivor benefits.

The workshop was just to educate mom on how to check that the surviving spouse benefits was being calculated more in line with those whose spouses died at a later age. The 3By3 National Campaign Survey instructor said the SSA is required to pay the higher of the standard Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) calculation or the WINDEX Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). The folks at 3By3 National Campaign Survey didn't get into mom's personal numbers because she likes her privacy, but they pointed her in the right direction like a caring friend. They helped her determine if the SSA applied the WINDEX (Widowers Indexing Computation) to survivor benefits by reviewing her Notice of Award letter for specific technical language. Some others they helped by using the SSA’s online Detailed Calculator to manually simulate the PIA calculation based on the deceased's earnings record.

He explained to mom instead of indexing dad's (the deceased worker's) earnings to the year of death, something at SSA called WINDEX uses a later year. This allows more of dad's (the worker's) earnings to be adjusted upwards to keep pace with wage growth. He said it's a special, alternative computation used only for the widow(er)'s benefit rate.

Its purpose is to ensure beneficiaries are not penalized because a spouse died young.

Well, lo and behold the 3By3 National Campaign Survey sent my mom a beautiful flier that said, "With Love We Remember You."

The Widowers Indexing Computation (WINDEX) at the Social Security Administration (SSA) was not applied to certain cases, resulting in lower benefits. WINDEX increases benefits by calculating the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) using the year the surviving spouse turns 60 (or when the worker would have turned 62) rather than the earlier year of the husband's death, allowing for higher wage indexing and better bend points in the benefit formula.

The Inspector General estimated that, because SSA employees did not always apply this formula, thousands of widows and widowers were underpaid, sometimes by hundreds of dollars a year, according to a March 2026 audit.

Based on the information we discussed at the workshop, you are eligible for a back due amount.

An Investigation Discovered Massive Payment Mistakes at the SSA.

We at the 3By3 National Campaign Survey rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. And in your specific case we relied on the information we examined from the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General. The Widow(er) Beneficiaries Potentially Eligible for Higher Monthly Benefit Amount report finding at https://oig.ssa.gov/assets/uploads/032409.pdf

You are 1 of over 8,000 widows and widowers who were underpaid part of $50.4 million. The underpayment was due to SSA calculation errors.

According to a new report, you are one of the people who lost $114 million in additional benefits due to bad advice from SSA staff about when to claim.

The S.S.A. agency says it is working on corrective action to fix these errors.

Contact your local social security office. Bring your relevant paper work.

Based on actions taken in 2025 and 2026, President Trump’s accountability-focused executive orders (including guidance returning to Execute Order 13839 principles in 2025) aim to accelerate the removal of federal employees for poor performance, such as repeated SSA calculation errors or improper advice. These policies, combined with the efforts of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), are designed to significantly shorten the process for disciplining or firing Social Security Administration (SSA) staff. 

Note: According to a March 2025 memo, some agencies are reviewing policies following a new 2025 Executive Order (EO 14171), which revoked the 2021 rescission and is causing a return to policies from earlier orders like 13839. 

https://www.opm.gov/chcoc/latest-memos/guidance-on-executive-order-exclusions-from-federal-labor-man...

This information is provided to you and your family by us at The 3By3 National Campaign Survey, and it is intended to ensure you receive the money you deserve.

Sincerely    

All of us at        

The 3By3 National Campaign Survey My family greatly appreciates the help from The 3 By 3 National Campaign Survey.

Yours will, too. Milt Hollinger

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[GailL1]

@SummerOnTheWay1 

 I don’t know anything about the poster you are calling a spammer or the organization they spoke about in their post.  BUT. . . . . Social Security WINDEXING is a real thing.

One does NOT apply for windexing, ever; that's not a thing one can do. You simply apply for survivor benefits, and the SSA will automatically calculate your benefit using the windexing method if appropriate. 

It is only applicable in certain situations, as the poster did say, but SSA knows this when you apply for Survivors (Widow/Widowers) benefits and use it automatically compute the benefits when the details are such that it might be applicable. 

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[Saturday 5/16/26]

Gail @GailL1 

(1) Are the LINKS in their post SAFE?

(2) Did you "click" ALL of them?

(3) Secondly, that is a VERY LONG "copy & paste" from probably Social Security WEBSITE if what you are saying is CORRECT.

(4) Where is this "copy & paste" from?

(5) IF it is indeed from the Social Security WEBSITE, the last I "checked" at age 67, it states it is "unlawful" to paste their material.

(6) Did you READ ALL OF their "very long" copy & paste?

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➡️[*** GAIL @GailL1 wrote:

@SummerOnTheWay1 

 I don’t know anything about the poster you are calling a spammer or the organization they spoke about in their post.  BUT. . . . . Social Security WINDEXING is a real thing.

One does NOT apply for windexing, ever; that's not a thing one can do. You simply apply for survivor benefits, and the SSA will automatically calculate your benefit using the windexing method if appropriate. 

It is only applicable in certain situations, as the poster did say, but SSA knows this when you apply for Survivors (Widow/Widowers) benefits and use it automatically compute the benefits when the details are such that it might be applicable. 

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[GailL1]

@SummerOnTheWay1     The OIG one is the same one I already have in my files.  The other one on EO - I don’t know - I don’t see the EO link’s relationship to the WINDEXING.  But maybe there is - IDK

If anybody thinks that WINDEXING might affect them and it is not already within their Widow/Widowers Survivors benefits, which it already should be, they can make an appointment with their local SSA office and discuss it with them - I would say compute it yourself but the SSA WINDEXING calculator looks real complicated to me - 

IDK about the copy/ paste or how much of it actually is copy/paste.  

All I am saying is that WINDEXING is a real SSA.gov thing - past that IDK.

Unlawful to pull info from the government’s website??? It is actually your website too.

[SummerOnTheWay1]

[Saturday 5/16/26]

Thanks Gail @GailL1 , we can "trust" YOUR links ALWAYS!!! You have been here for YEARS helping members with Social Security & Medicare QUESTIONS. Moving FORWARD, since this site belongs to AARP, I will let them "decide" how to handle the "violations" of their GUIDELINES. Unless they have "changed" their GUIDELINES, this new poster "violated" their GUIDELINES with their VERY LONG "copy & paste" from wherever. Not sure WHY? Have a GREAT weekend, Nicole 🤗💛

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➡️[*** GAIL @GailL1 wrote:

@SummerOnTheWay1     The OIG one is the same one I already have in my files.  The other one on EO - I don’t know - I don’t see the EO link’s relationship to the WINDEXING.  But maybe there is - IDK

If anybody thinks that WINDEXING might affect them and it is not already within their Widow/Widowers Survivors benefits, which it already should be, they can make an appointment with their local SSA office and discuss it with them - I would say compute it yourself but the SSA WINDEXING calculator looks real complicated to me - 

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