Hello,

Suppose higher-earning spouse Hi and lower-earning spouse Lo live with their disabled adult child DAC. Lo decides to take retirement benefits at age 62 while Hi wants to wait until 70. But now Hi passes away early, before claiming, while Lo is only 64.

Lo wants to wait until 67 to claim unreduced Widow/Widower benefits. Can Lo's own retirement benefit be suspended while Lo takes Child-in-Care benefits off of Hi's work record (assuming they're higher than Lo's own reduced retirement benefit)? And when Lo reaches 67, does Lo have to re-activate retirement benefits in order to get the Widow/Widower benefit or is it possible to keep that suspended until Lo hits 70, for additional delay credits, while getting Widow/Widower benefit starting at 67?

Hi. No, LO couldn't suspend her own benefits and draw child in care survivor benefits instead. In the first place, you aren't allowed to voluntarily suspend Social Security retirement benefits prior to full retirement age (FRA), And, secondly, if you do voluntarily suspend your retirement benefits, you can't collect any other type of Social Security benefits while your own benefits are suspended. Therefore, although LO could suspend her retirement benefits starting at FRA in order to earn delayed retirement credits (DRC), but she wouldn't be able to collect widow's benefits while her own benefits are suspended.

If LO starts drawing her benefits at age 62 and if HI dies when LO is 64, LO could either choose to a) apply for reduced widow's benefits immediately, or b) wait until FRA to claim unreduced widow's benefits. It sounds like your Hi and LO would greatly benefit from using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze their options so that they can determine their best strategy for maximizing benefits.

Best, Jerry