Hi Larry, I read Money Magic -it’s fantastic.
I know you have said before that you can’t rely on the staff at the social security office. I became a widow at age 53. My husband was 52. I will be turning 64 next month. It is my understanding I have two options:

1. Claim on my husbands account first -then I could switch to claim on my account at 70

2. Claim my social security early -and switch to my late husbands social security at my full retirement age 66 and & months. . Social security told me I’d get the full amount if I took it at 65.

It’s my understanding that to get the full amount from my husbands social security I need to wait til 66 and 8 months ( my full retirement) not 65 as the social security staff stated. Is that correct?

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. If you were born in 1958, then you'd be eligible for an unreduced widow's benefit if you claim widow's benefits effective with the month you turn 66 & 4 months. It's true that your full retirement age (FRA) for retirement benefits would be age 66 & 8 months, but FRA for widow's benefits can be up to 4 months earlier depending on the widow's year of birth (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-0409.htm).

Your best filing strategy would likely be to claim the lower of your two benefit rates as early as your eligible for payments, and then file for the higher benefit when it reaches it's highest rate. You should 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