my husband died in 1991 age 51 he was making from 12000 a year in the 70's 24000 in the 80's and then 16800 for 4 years til his death i took early retirement so what social security should i be getting i cannot figure what all the complicated numbers mean to calculate it and iam not sure they are calculating it correctly.

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

There's really no way you could hope to calculate your widow's benefit rate on your own. Social Security would base your widow's rate on the higher of 2 different calculation methods, both of which would use as a base an average of your husband's highest 23 or 24 years of earnings after adjustment for wage-inflation. Furthermore, if you start drawing widow's benefits prior to your full retirement age (FRA) your benefit rate would be reduced by a variable monthly percentage depending on your year of birth.

Suffice to say, you would need a very accurately programmed calculator to independently determine your widow's rate. Our maximization software calculator can handle those types of computations, as well a help you determine your best strategy for claiming benefits. Or, you could try contacting Social Security in hopes of getting to speak with a well trained representative willing to review your benefit computation with you.

Best, Jerry