When I was 58 my husband
Passed away I went to the ss office and asked about surviviors benefits and was told because I worked I made too much and would get none. I am 68 and vacationing with two people who lost their spouses and have drawn since their spouses passing and said income has nothing to do with the survivors beniefits What can I do it has been eleven years ?

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. When Social Security told you that you didn't qualify for widow's benefits at age 58, that didn't mean that you would never qualify for those benefits. The only way that you could have qualified for widow's benefits at age 58 is if you were disabled. Non-disabled widows must be at least age 60 to potentially qualify for benefits. Furthermore, if a widow is still working and if they apply for benefits prior to full retirement age (FRA), their benefits may need to be partially or fully withheld depending on how much they're earning (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html).

Since you are now over FRA, you would meet the age requirement for widow's benefits and your earnings wouldn't have any adverse effect on your ability to collect widow's benefits. However, if you're already drawing your own Social Security benefits, then you could only be paid widow's benefits if your widow's benefit rate is higher than your own benefit rate.

I would suggest contacting Social Security ASAP to see about the possibility of applying for widow's benefits. You can't be paid widow's benefits unless you apply for them. If you do qualify for widow's benefits, though, you can only claim a maximum of 6 months of back pay. You would want to claim the full 6 months of retroactive benefits if you're eligible, since widow's benefits do not increase if you wait past FRA to claim them.

Best, Jerry