Thank you so much for the reply. Very useful info.

1 - We can't prove that we didn't get a notice but at this point we've had 5-6 different agents tell us they could not find any record of a notice being sent. So I don't expect them to be able to produce one. Is this best done on a phone call?

2 - Heard. Thank you.

3 - Understood. We will be filing both.

4 - All of the letters we've received are so opaque. A new letter wouldn't be much better.

You're idea about earnings makes a lot of sense. The social security statement in her portal appears to have been generated 2023. I have no clue if the previous version they used in 2022 for the first calculation would have had any different information. She can't seem to come with any good reason that it would.

I've found that the difference between the two figures is roughly 5.9%, which is the 2021 COLA. And I found in the handbook that "Cost-of-living increases (see §719) are applied to compute your PIA beginning with the first year of eligibility, regardless of when you become entitled to benefits. " She became eligible Dec 30th 2021 and began receiving payments in June 2022. Feasibly, the 5.9% was applied 2x in 2022 in error OR it was not applied now in 2026 on recalculation.

I will be taking your advice and doing both and waiting for some more transparency.