I've been on SSDI since 1995 I only receive 277 a month now, my Husband just passed away at age 79, I'm 60 now, he started his Ssa at age 62, will I be able to keep my SSDI and how much of his 1,029 SSA will I receive and how will it be before I start receiving it?

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. Yes, you can potentially keep drawing your Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits and also qualify for widow's benefits. The exact amount of widow's benefits that you could now receive depends on your exact age and the amounts of your and your husband's primary insurance amount (PIA). A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA), or their full SSDI benefit rate.

If you're drawing your own SSDI benefits and if you apply for widow's benefits effective with the month you reach age 60, your widow's rate would amount to 71.5% of the difference between your PIA and your husband's higher PIA. The percentage would be a bit higher if you're somewhere between ages 60 & 61 when you start drawing widow's benefits. In any case, though, since you're already drawing SSDI it would be advantageous to claim any widow's benefits for which you qualify as soon as possible. Any reduction for age applicable to the widow's rate of a person who was eligible for SSDI benefits prior to receiving widow's benefits is removed when the widow reaches full retirement age (FRA). Therefore, it sounds like there would be no downside to claiming your widow's benefits ASAP.

You need to file an application with Social Security in order to claim widow's benefits. If you haven't already done so you'll need to initiate that process by calling Social Security at 800-772-1213. It usually takes Social Security roughly 30 and 60 days to process a claim for widow's benefits, but that time frame can vary.

Best, Jerry