My husband died (Sept 2018) when he was 63 and he had not started drawing his social security. His full retirement age would have been 66 and 2 months. I will be 60 in December. I had a phone meeting with social security on Monday to check on widow benefits. I am going to continue to work and will not be eligible to draw anything due to making too much. My question to social security was can I draw my benefit when I get FRA and then change over when I am 70 to my husbands and draw what he would have at age 70. I was told I could not do that because he would not have any delayed retirement credits. I was told I should start drawing his when I reach FRA at what he would have drawn at FRA. (My husband monthly s/s amount is greater than mine). I am just making sure of this information because the lady said she didn't know and had to ask someone. Thank you for your help.

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

Yes, it's true that you could not accrue delayed retirement credits (DRC) on your widow's benefit even if you wait past full retirement age (FRA) to start drawing them. Since your husband died prior to FRA and before he started drawing his Social Security benefits, your unreduced widow's benefit rate would be equal to 100% of your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA). A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at FRA. Whether you file for your widow's benefits at FRA or any time after that, you couldn't be paid more than 100% of your husband's PIA. Therefore, it wouldn't make sense to wait past FRA to claim your widow's benefits.

You could file for reduced widow's benefits as early as age 60, and if you do so your widow's rate would be reduced by 28.5% to 71.5% of your husband's PIA. If you file for widow's benefits between age 60 and FRA, your rate would fall somewhere between 71.5% and 100% of your husband's PIA. The applicable percentage would depend on your age at the time you claim the benefits.

However, if you're working and earning too much then some or all of your benefits could be withheld until you reach FRA due to Social Security's earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html). Your best strategy for claiming benefits is almost certainly one of the following:
1) File for reduced widow's benefits at age 60 or as soon as your earnings will permit at least some benefits to be paid, then switch to your own record at age 70; or,
2) File for reduced retirement benefits on your own record at age 62 or as soon as your earnings will permit at least some benefits to be paid, then file for unreduced widow's benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

Normally, you would want to start out drawing the lower benefit first and then switch to the higher benefit when it reaches it's highest potential rate. Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) could help sort all of this out for you so that you can determine the best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry