Hi Larry, My sister's husband died in November 2015 at 65 years. He hadn't filed for Soc. Sec. Five years later my sister is 62 years old.

1) If she files for her own Soc. Sec. now, at an age reduced amount, would that early filing affect her available amount from her husband's surviving spouse Soc. Sec. at her Full Retirement Age of 67yr. 2m?

2) Say she files for her own Soc. Sec. now, at an age reduced amount, and she keeps earning enough income to cause a +/- 50% Soc. Sec. reduction. Does that reduced Soc. Sec. amount that she doesn't receive increase her future payout as if she hadn't filed at as early an age?

Thank you.

Hi,

No, if your sister files for her own reduced benefits at age 62 it wouldn't cause any reduction in the widow's rate that she could be paid at her full retirement age (FRA).

If your sister files for her benefits at age 62 and if some of her benefits are withheld prior to FRA because of her earnings, her own Social Security retirement benefit rate could be recomputed at FRA to remove any age reduction applied to her benefit rate for months that she wasn't paid. However, that won't help her if she ends up drawing a higher widow's benefit at FRA. She couldn't be paid any more than the higher of her own benefit rate or her widow's rate.

It sounds like your sister's best strategy for claiming benefits would likely be one of the following:
1) File for reduced widow's benefits now or as soon as her earnings will permit at least some benefits to be paid, then switch to her own record at age 70; or,
2) File for reduced retirement benefits on her own record now or as soon as her earnings will permit at least some benefits to be paid, then file for unreduced widow's benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

Normally, your sister 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 your sister so she can determine the best strategy for maximizing her benefits.

Best, Jerry