My husband passed away in December of 2014 (I had turned 60 in August of that year). I visited the social security office to complete the requisite filings. I was advised about the reduction based on age and the earnings cap. Since I was employed as a teacher, the amount of benefit would have been marginally above zero at the time. I was further advised that the amount of my benefit would increase along with my age and that any point I could file for the benefit. I was further advised that I could switch to my own in the future if that benefit was higher. I have now reached the age where my benefit exceeds his and, since the earnings cap has increased, I was planning to file for my widow's benefit and switch to my own at age 70. I was advised that as of 4/30/17, that option had been revoked. Further, that if I filed for his benefit now, I would also have to file for my own and I would be provided the greater of the two. I am currently in the Florida DROP program and have the opportunity to work for 4 more years, which I was planning to do while increasing my savings by the amount of Social Security widow's benefit I would qualify for. I attended a seminar as recently as two months ago where I was told that I could collect one and switch to the other later. Who's correct?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

You can file for widow's benefits without being forced to file for your own retirement benefits, or vice versa. Whoever told you otherwise is wrong.

However, your earnings could limit the amount of benefits you can receive prior to full retirement age (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking2.html). And, if you eventually receive a pension based on your own work that was exempt from Social Security taxes, your retirement and/or widow's benefits could be affected by the WEP and GPO provisions (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10045.pdf & https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf).

Your best filing strategy is likely one of the following:
1) File for reduced widow's benefits now or as soon as your earnings will permit benefits to be paid, then switch to your own record at age 70; or,
2) File for reduced retirement benefits now or as soon as your earnings will permit benefits to be paid, then file for widow's benefits at full retirement age, or sooner if your husband received reduced retirement benefits.

The maximization software available on this website can help you determine which of these strategies is best in your case, as well as when to apply for each type of benefit. The software is programmed to handle earnings test considerations, and well as computations involving WEP and GPO.

Best, Jerry