My mother in law is 66 and has never claimed survivor benefits from her late husband who passed in 2004. Can she now apply for those social security benefits? If she decides to work how much can she make a year while claiming those benefits?

Hi,

Yes, your mother-in-law could apply for survivor benefits, and since she's reached her full retirement age (FRA) there's no limit on how much she could earn and still be able to potentially collect survivor benefits. However, your mother-in-law couldn't claim survivor benefits retroactively for any months prior to the later of a) the month she reached FRA, or b) 6 months prior to the month in which she files her application.

There isn't enough information in your question for me to be able to offer your mother-in-law any advice, but she may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze her options so that she can choose the best possible filing strategy.

Best, Jerry