Follow up question to Aug 7th concerning Widows benefits. If my wife is taking early Spousal benefits, say age 62 and I took early retirement and die before she reaches her FRA, can she elect to suspend receiving widow benefits until reaching her FRA so as to then get the higher of my reduced benefit or 82.5% of my FRA?
Also, if I take early benefit and she waits until her FRA for spousal benefit, does she get 50% of my early benefit or of my original PIA at my FRA?
Thanks again for all your sage advice I have been reading in this forum!

Hi,

No, your wife couldn't voluntarily suspend her widow's benefits in order to get a higher future rate. The conversion from spousal to widow's benefits in the event of the worker's death is automatic unless the widow is also receiving retirement benefits based on their own record, and voluntary suspension is limited to retirement benefits only from FRA until age 70.

However, your wife wouldn't necessarily need to be full retirement age (FRA) in order to get the higher of a) your reduced benefit rate or b) 82.5% of your PIA (primary insurance amount). If at the time of your death she's at least the same age as you were when you started drawing your reduced retirement benefits, she'd probably get at least the full reduced rate that you were receiving at the time of your death (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0300615320).

The answer to your other question is yes, if your wife waits until FRA to start drawing her spousal benefits she'll get a spousal rate equal to 50% of your PIA regardless of when you start drawing your benefits. Before either you or your wife files for benefits, you should strongly consider using our maximization software in order to avoid choosing a disadvantageous filing strategy.

Best, Jerry