My husband passed away April 2014. I was not working at the time. I called Social Security the day after his passing to ask about receiving widows benefits and was told I was not qualified. I went into the Social Security office August 2016 to inquire about my own SS benefits because I was going to turn 65 the following Nov and also inquired again about my widows benefits, I still was not working, they said I was not eligible. I started working October 2016 and have been working up to present time...I visited the SS office this Oct.m 2017 to ask about my SS and at that time without my asking about my widows benefits they opened a file and told me I was qualified fr widows benefits. They first quoted me at 612/mo now I have received a letter saying it is 507/month (one month later) I want to get the back pay to April 2014 I have witnesses who were with me when I made the call and then the next time when I was in the office I had my sister with me as a witness to their refusal. How do I go about getting the back pay owed me?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

Normally, no retroactivity is permitted on claims for widow's benefits filed prior to full retirement age. In order to claim widow's benefits retroactive to 2014, you would need to establish that Social Security gave you misinformation that deterred you from filing timely. If misinformation is established, Social Security could potentially establish a deemed filing date for your claim as of the date you received the misinformation. For more information on evidence needed to establish misinformation, refer to this section of Social Security's operations manual: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204008.

If you've already filed for widow's benefits based on a current filing date, you would probably need to file an appeal requesting that an earlier deemed filing date be established. However, you need to be aware that if Social Security does go back and pay you retroactively to 2014, it could significantly reduce your ongoing monthly benefit rate. That may or may not be disadvantageous depending on whether or not you could switch to a higher benefit rate on your own record at some point. You may want to strongly consider using the maximization software available on this website to determine your best overall filing strategy.

Best, Jerry