I turned 63 last month and I am considering applying for my reduced SS benefits. My PIA at FRA IS $970 and my reduced benefit now is $770, according to my latest statement. My husband started receiving his benefits at FRA and his PIA is $2158.

I was married previously and my husband died when he was 43. We were married for 11 years and I remarried at the age of 50.

I would like to know if information I have is correct, which is based on reading MANY letters on your website.

If I apply now, I would receive a combination of my reduced benefits and reduced spousal benefits. If my husband and I divorce (it is amicable and we are holding off until I turn 65 and can receive Medicare), I would be able to apply for unreduced survivor benefits based on my deceased husband’s PIA at my FRA of 66, 2 months.

Also, how is the PIA of someone who died at 43 determined? I assume I would not know that until I apply for survivor benefits.

Thank you in advance for answering my questions.

Hi,

Yes, your understanding of the rules and your options appears to be correct. Just to clarify, though, if you started out getting retirement and spousal/divorced spousal benefits and then filed for survivor benefits at your full retirement age you could only receive the higher or those rates, not both. You may want to strongly consider using our maximization software before you file in order to make certain that you know your best strategy.

Calculation of the primary insurance amount (PIA) of a person who dies at age 43 would be based on their highest 16 or 17 years of Social Security covered earnings. The person's actual wages are adjusted to account for increases in average annual wages as part of this process, and this indexing can be based on either the deceased's year of death or the surviving widow's year of birth. Suffice to say, it's a rather involved computation. If and when you do get divorced, though, Social Security should be able to provide you with your potential widow's rate.

Best, Jerry