Hello Larry. I am 69 and my wife is 57. I have held off applying for social security in order to fully maximize my monthly benefit payment. I will turn 70 in August of this year and will apply. My wife plans to apply for her SS benefit in 5 years when she will be 62. My question is, if/when I die before her, when will she qualify to take my benefit amount in "full" and give up her own? What if I die before she even reaches 62? It looks like that we both may need to live until I am 79 and she is 67 in order for her to be able to receive my "full" benefit amount, as I have heard that in order for her to receive every cent of my benefit amount that she must reach her own Full Retirement Age (67) first. Is this true?

Hi. Yes, that's true in your case. The only exception to that rule is if the deceased worker started drawing their Social Security retirement benefits prior to their full retirement age (FRA), in which case the surviving spouse's benefit rate would be limited to the higher of a) the deceased worker's reduced rate, or b) 82.5% of the deceased worker's primary insurance amount. In those cases the widow would hit their maximum survivor rate at some point prior to their FRA, but they'd still be stuck with what's essentially a reduced benefit rate.

In your case, though, since you didn't start drawing your benefits early your wife could be paid up to the higher of a) your full benefit amount inclusive of the delayed retirement credits (DRC) you earned by waiting past FRA to draw your benefits, or b) her own benefit amount in the event of your death. But, if she starts drawing widow's benefits prior to FRA then her widow's rate will be reduced for age. However, collecting her own benefits early would not adversely affect your wife's widow's rate in the event of your death.

For example, if you start drawing your benefits at age 70 and if your wife starts drawing her benefits at age 62, if you die before her and if she is at least FRA when she claims widow's benefits she could be paid your full age 70 rate instead of her own lower rate. Even if you die before your wife reaches FRA, she could choose to wait until her FRA to start drawing widow's benefits in order to receive your full rate.

If you die before your wife reaches age 62 it would likely be best for her to claim her own benefits at age 62 and wait until her FRA to claim unreduced widow's benefits. Your wife could instead claim widow's benefits as early as age 60, in which case she'd be paid 71.5% of your full rate inclusive of the delayed retirement credits (DRC) you earned by waiting past FRA to draw your benefits, but she'd then be stuck with that reduced rate permanently.

You and your wife may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry