I am a widow, age 61.i would like to retire at 62. My husband (second) was on disability for over 10 years. My first husband (we were married 19 years then divorced). I am currently still working and earning too much to get survivor benefits. What is my best strategy to maximize my benefits?

Hi,

The answer to your question depends mainly on the relative benefit rates that you could be eligible for on your own record and on the records of your former spouses.

Your best strategy is likely one of the following:
1) File for reduced survivor benefits now 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 survivor benefits at your full retirement age (FRA).

In your case, however, it sounds like you may even have more options if you could potentially qualify for benefits on the record of more than one former spouse. Normally, you would want to start out drawing the lower benefit first and then switch to the highest record when it reaches it's maximum potential rate. Our software could help sort all of this out for you so that you could determine your optimal filing strategy.

Best, Jerry