I am 75. I delayed filing until age 70 and currently receive around the maximum benefit, $4500 per month.

My spouse is 60 and qualifies on her own work record. If I die in the next year could she file for reduced benefits on her record at 62 and then apply for survivors benefit at age 67 and get 100% of my current benefit(adjusted for cost of living)?

If I am still alive in a few years, could she also file for reduced benefits on her record at 62 and then apply for survivors benefit at age 67 and get 100% of my current benefit(adjusted for cost of living)?

Thank you

Hi. Yes, and yes. Any reduction for age applied to your wife's own benefit rate would not carry over to her widow's benefit rate. As long as your wife doesn't start drawing widow's benefits prior to her full retirement age (FRA), then if she's widowed she'd be eligible for 100% of your benefit rate inclusive of any delayed retirement credits (DRC) you accrued by waiting past your FRA to start drawing benefits. Just to be clear, though, your widow couldn't be paid both her own benefit and your full amount, just the higher of the two benefit rates.

Before filing for benefits, your wife may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of her various options in order to determine her best filing strategy for maximizing benefits.

Best, Jerry