I was just informed by ssi that I can get widows benefits,
He passed 6 yrs ago, can I get retro active pay

Hi. First off, the earliest that you can possibly qualify for widow's benefits is at age 60, unless you're disabled in which case you could potentially qualify as early as age 50. You'd also need to meet the other requirements, as outlined in the following section of Social Security's handbook: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html.

Even if you met all of the requirements for widow's benefits at some time in the past, though, you couldn't be paid retroactively for more than 6 months from the month you apply for the benefits. And, the only way that you could possibly be paid for ANY months prior to the month of your application is if your application is filed after you reached full retirement age (FRA), or in certain cases if your deceased spouse collected reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to his or her death.

Furthermore, widow's benefits are reduced for age if you start drawing them prior to your FRA, so even if you do qualify for widow's benefits it may not be advantageous to apply for those benefits prior to your FRA. Determining when to start drawing widow's benefits can be complicated, so before filing an application you may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry