I've recently retired at the age of 64. FRA is 66, 4 mos. My husband passed away in 2017 at the age of 64. He hadn't applied for retirement benefits. I have spoken to 2 people from SSA regarding my application for benefits and got 2 different answers. The first said that I should take my own reduced retirement benefits first and then switch to survivors benefit from my husband after it had increased. My husband's benefit is significantly higher. But the second time I was told that I had to take survivors benefit first because my husband's was higher than my retirement benefits. I was told that if I wait until May of 2021 to apply, survivors benefits would be higher than my own retirement benefits at age 70. The question is... Can I take my reduced benefits now and switch to my husband's benefit in May 2021 or later?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

The answer to your question is a qualified yes. You couldn't actually file for your own Social Security retirement benefits now and then switch to drawing just widow's benefits later, but you could accomplish essentially the same result. Once you file for your own Social Security retirement benefits, that becomes your primary benefit for life. If you later qualify for a different type of Social Security benefit (e.g. spousal, survivor) that's higher than your own benefit rate, Social Security would continue to pay you your own benefit plus a portion of the other benefit to which you're entitled.

If you file for your own reduced benefits now and then file for higher widow's benefits in May 2021, you'll still get the higher widow's rate. It would just be paid as two separate benefits that would be combined into one payment. The fact that you took a reduced Social Security retirement benefit wouldn't reduce your total benefit rate when you file for your widow's benefits, since your partial widow's rate would be calculated by subtracting your own reduced rate from the full widow's amount for which you'd be eligible. The total amount payable would add up to the higher widow's rate. However, if you start drawing your widow's benefits prior for your full retirement age (FRA), your widow's rate will be reduced for age and that reduction would be permanent.

Based on your description I'm confused as to why you'd want to file for your widow's benefits in May 2021 instead of at FRA. If your husband didn't draw reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to his death, then your highest possible widow's rate would be payable if you wait until FRA to start drawing your widow's benefits. It sounds like your best strategy would almost certainly be one of the following:
1) File for reduced widow's benefits now, then switch to your own record at age 70; or,
2) File for reduced retirement benefits on your own record now, then file for unreduced widow's benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

If your own Social Security retirement benefit rate would not be higher than your unreduced widow's rate even if you waited until age 70 to start drawing, then you'd almost certainly want to choose option 2 above. Regardless of which strategy you choose, though, if you aren't currently working then you would want to apply for benefits ASAP. Social Security can't pay reduced benefits retroactively for months prior to the month you apply, so a delay in filing will result in a loss of benefits. Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) could sort all of this out for you and help you determine your optimal strategy.

By the way, since you say that your FRA is 66 & 4 months I assume you were born in 1956. If so, due to a quirk in Social Security's regulations your FRA for widow's benefits would be age 66 even though your FRA for retirement benefits is 66 & 4 months. So, assuming that you were in fact born in 1956, if you do end up choosing strategy 2 you would want to start drawing your widow's benefits effective with the month you reach age 66.

Best, Jerry