Hi, I cant find the answer to my ss question anywhere. I am 69 and husband 74. We are both on ss. I never heard about spousal benifits until i was searching the other day. My question is If i apply for spousal benefits will my widows compensation be reduced? I only make 500 in ss. My husband s is 2000. thank you.

Hi,

No, drawing spousal benefits would have no adverse effect on your future potential widow's benefits. And, if you can qualify for spousal benefits you should apply for them as soon as possible. Social Security regulations limit retroactive entitlement of spousal benefits to no more than 6 months prior to the month you apply for them, and you'd want to claim the maximum retroactivity.

Even though your benefit rate is substantially lower than your husband's benefit rate, you may still not qualify for spousal benefits, though. The only way you'll qualify is if 50% of your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA) is higher than your PIA. A person's PIA is equal to the amount of their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing at full retirement age (FRA).

For example, say Mary filed for her Social Security retirement benefits at age 62. Mary's PIA is $800, but she only receives a monthly rate of $600 because she started drawing at age 62. Mary's husband waited until age 70 to start drawing his benefits, and his PIA is $1500. However, his monthly benefit rate is $1980, or 32% more than his PIA, because he waited until age 70 to start drawing.

In the example above, even though Mary's husband's monthly benefit rate is more than 3 times as much as her rate (i.e. $1980 vs. $600), Mary doesn't qualify for spousal benefits because her PIA of $800 is more than 50% of her husband's $1500 PIA.

Best, Jerry