I started receiving Social Security survivors benefits at age 62 after my husband died. I will be 68 this year and wonder if I am entitled to any further benefits on my own work record. I thought I read something about being born before 1954 but didn’t understand it. I was born in 1953. Can you help? Thank you for your time

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. Being born prior to 1954 is only significant if a person is potentially eligible for both Social Security retirement benefits based on their own work record and for spousal or divorced benefits on the record of a living spouse or ex-spouse. The fact that you were born prior to 1954 wouldn't make any difference in your situation.

You could apply for benefits based on your own Social Security work record if you qualify, but there'd probably be no reason to do that unless your own benefit rate would be higher than the amount of your survivor benefit. People who file for more than one type of Social Security benefit can only be paid up to the higher of the two benefit rates. Therefore, if your own benefit rate would be lower than your survivor rate, you wouldn't gain anything by filing for your own benefits.

If you are eligible for a higher benefit rate based on your own work record, though, then it would likely be better for you to wait until age 70 to apply. Your own benefit rate would continue to grow by 8% per year until you reach age 70 if you wait until then to start drawing your own benefits. Again, though, filing for your benefit at age 70 still wouldn't help you unless your own benefit rate would be higher than your survivor rate. You should be able to find out how much your own benefit would amount to by contacting Social Security, or you could use our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to do that.

Best, Jerry