I’m confused concerning widows benefit amount and how it is calculated. I’ve read a widow can claim benefits as early as age 60 and she will receive 71% of the husbands’ “ basic benefit amount “ . Is this basic benefit amount the amount he is entitled to receive at time of his death including additional monies for delayed retirement or is this amount just the amount one is entitled to at full retirement?
Seems to me she should get 71% of whatever the husband was entitled to at the time of his death not 71% of his benefits at full retirement age. Thank you

Hi. If a widow starts drawing widow's benefits at age 60 they are paid 71.5% of the higher of a) the deceased worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), or b) the deceased worker's PIA increased by any delayed retirement credits (DRC) the deceased worker earned prior to their death. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

Here's an example without considering cost of living (COLA) increases. Let's say that a deceased worker waited until age 70 to start drawing benefits. The worker's PIA was $1000, but they were collecting $1320 per month including DRCs. If that person's widow started drawing widow's benefits at age 60, their widow's benefit rate would be calculated by multiplying $1320 by 71.5%, resulting in a benefit rate of $943.80 prior to dollar down rounding.

Best, Jerry