My husband died 15 mo's ago. I applied for the VA Disability & am collecting this. I wasn't aware I could apply for his SS BENEFITS. I'm 69yo. He was 72yo when he died. We were married 12 yrs. How do I apply? Due to Covid, offices are closed. And how is the Amy. determined? I've heard various WRONG info. I would appreciate help. Thank you,

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. As long as Social Security offices are closed to the public, about the only way that you can apply for widow's benefits is by phone. You can call Social Security at 800-772-1213 to make an appointment to apply. Alternatively, you could complete a paper application (https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-10.pdf) and mail it to Social Security, but applying by phone is the current preferred filing method.

Assuming that you're eligible for widow's benefits, you'll want to call Social Security as soon as possible. You can only claim widow's benefits retroactively for up to 6 months from your month of application, and making an appointment to apply will protect your filing date and prevent any further possible loss of benefits. As long as your husband's Social Security retirement benefit rate was higher than your own benefit rate, then you should be eligible for widow's benefits.

AIME is the abbreviation for Average Indexed Monthly Earnings. A worker's AIME is part of what determines the monthly benefit amounts that can be paid based on that person's earnings history. For an explanation on how AIMEs are calculated, refer to the following Social Security website: https://www.ssa.gov/OACT/COLA/Benefits.html.

Best, Jerry