I'm so confused, I hope you can help me. My husband's birthdate was 07/30/1941. He took his SS retirement benefit at age 62. He died on 10/10/2018 at the age of 77 after a long illness. My birthdate is 11/05/1952. I also began taking SS from my employment at age 62. Apparently, there was a small spousal benefit included in the total amount (originally $717 and $78), which most recently was $828, less my Medicare, resulting in a monthly direct deposit of $694.
I received that amount, for Sept 2018, coincidentally on the day my husband died. His Sept payment of $1572 was deposited on 10/24 and I was told that it was proper to keep it, but to return any future deposits for him. On 11/14, there was another deposit of $694, my usual amount, for October.
I believe I'm entitled to widows benefits, but I'm getting strange/conflicting information from local and federal SS offices. After a certain amount of drama, I received a letter from the federal office stating "we have made changes based on the death of (husband's name) in October 2018...Your regular monthly benefit is $828 starting in October 2018...this is the benefit due you based on your own record,,,You should receive your payment about October 10, 2018...You are no longer entitled to spouse's benefits effective October 2018...You may be able to get permanently reduced survivors benefits." They included a Form SSA-4111. I'm not sure if or how to complete it, or because I reached my FRA three weeks after he died, I should use Form SSA-10 instead.
In addition, the next day, I received a form, "Certificate of Election for Reduced Spouse's Benefits" from the local SS office, with a local return envelope. This, apparently, is the result of an uncomfortable face-to-face meeting with a local SS rep to give them a copy of my husband's death certificate, which they, in fact, had already. I was told that my case was "unusual" and required "special handling by the experts." Needless to say, I was terrified. Our financial situation was precarious prior to my husband's death and now it is desperate. I can't understand what, if anything, I'm supposed to do with this latest form. I thought my spousal benefits had been canceled, so it seems irrelevant, but I don't want to do anything improper. I'm afraid to go in or even call the federal number because they both seem to be mistaken and I can't trust what they say, to say nothing of the 3 hours-on-hold wait times. Please advise.
Hi,
I'm sorry for your loss.
Based on your description of events, I have no idea why Social Security would be sending you a 'certificate of election for reduced spouse's benefits' form (i.e. SSA-25). It sounds like the 'certificate of election for reduced widows benefits' (i.e. SSA-4111) that was previously sent to you would be the appropriate form. I would guess that the form SSA-25 was simply sent to you by mistake unless there's something more complicated involved with your case that's not readily apparent.
The form SSA-4111 would be required in order to convert your spouse's benefits to widow's benefits since your husband died prior to the month you reached your full retirement age (FRA). If your husband started drawing his retirement benefits at age 62, then there would almost certainly be no reason not to take your widow's benefits starting with October rather than waiting until November. Due to the RIB-LIM formula that Social Security uses to calculate widow's benefits in cases in which the deceased received reduced retirement benefits, it sounds like regardless of whether you start drawing your widow's benefits in October or November your widow's rate will end up being the higher of a) 82.5% of your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA), or b) the reduced rate that your husband was receiving at the time of his death. You won't get that amount plus your own benefit rate, though, just the higher of the two.
When you complete the form SSA-4111, you'll want to list your husband's name and Social Security number (SSN) at the top of the form, and your name and SSN below that. Then, you'd enter October 2018 in item #3 and sign, date and return the form. However, I can't be 100% sure that your benefit rate wouldn't be higher if you waited until November to claim your widow's benefits, since all I have to go by is the information you've provided. You may want to try re-contacting Social Security for a better explanation of your options than you've received thus far, but that's up to you.
Best, Jerry
