I draw a PERA retirement from my 26 year career in government. I was a homemaker before starting that career so never paid in to SS. My husband is retired and draws SS. My PERA is more than his SS. If he dies will I get any widow benefit from his SS? We have been married 54 years

Hi. Your unreduced widow's rate would be equal to your husband's full benefit amount, but it sounds like the government pension offset (GPO) provision will cause your widow's benefits to be offset by 2/3rds of the gross amount of your government pension (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). Therefore, you'll probably only be able to collect widow's benefits if your husband's benefit rate is more than 2/3rds of the amount of your government pension.

Even if your widow's benefits are offset to zero, though, you would still likely qualify for a one-time death benefit of $255 from your husband's account. So, in the event of your husband's death you'd want to contact Social Security to file the pertinent application(s).

Best, Jerry