I’m a widow. My husband was killed in a trucking accident in 2016. I’m 54 and was previously married for 18 years. I’m currently not working, but worked since 15 years of age up to recently. At the age of 60 , I should be eligible to file for widow benefits. However, my question is, am I eligible to file as a divorced spouse at the age 62 as well? Bit confusing since I could potentially file in three manners, my late husband, ex husband and mine. Am I correct? Thank you

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

Yes, you could potentially file for divorced spousal benefits as early as age 62 if you meet the requirements, but you can essentially only receive one type of benefit at a time. If you start drawing widow's benefits at age 60 and then file for divorced spousal benefits at age 62, you could only receive the higher of the 2 benefit rates. Furthermore, whenever you file for divorced spousal benefits you will also be deemed to be filing for your own retirement benefits, and you will only be paid the higher of those 2 rates or your widow's rate if you are already drawing widow's benefits.

Your best strategy is likely one of the following:
1) File for widow's benefits at age 60 or as soon as your earnings will permit benefits to be paid, then switch to your own record at age 70; or,
2) File for retirement benefits on your own record at age 62 or as soon as your earnings will permit benefits to be paid, then file for unreduced widow's benefits at your full retirement age.

However, if your divorced spousal rate would be higher than your own benefit rate there may be other possibilities. Generally, you would want to start out drawing the lower benefit first and then switch to the higher record when it reaches it's highest potential rate. The maximization software available on this website can sort this all out for you and help you determine your best overall filing strategy.

Best, Jerry