Hi Larry,

I'm 78 and have been retired for several years, and have been collecting approximately $3,000/mo based on my full retirement age. My wife is 64 and is eligible for approximately $1,200/mo at FTA in just over two years. She has not yet filed for early retirement. Because of my age and because we are heavily dependent on my SS income, we are concerned about how the monthly payout would be affected if I die before she reaches FTA.
So, my questions are:
1. If I die before her FTA of 66 yrs and 4 mo will she continue to collect my full retirement without adjustment, or is my retirement reduced based on her age at the time of my death?
2. If reduced, will the monthly payout return to the full amount ($3,000) when she reaches FTA?
3. If she applies for early retirement now will it affect the answers to either questions 1 or 2 above?

Thanks for your help.

Hi,

One quirk that you'll want to know is that if your wife's full retirement age (FRA) for Social Security retirement benefits is 66 & 4 months (i.e. she was born in 1956), her FRA for widow's benefits is still 66. The legislation raising the FRA for widow's was passed later than the legislation raising the FRA for retirement benefits, so people born in the years 1955 through 1961 have different FRAs for retirement and widow's benefits.

If you started drawing your benefits at FRA or later and if your wife starts drawing widow's benefits before her FRA, her widow's rate will be reduced for age. The percentage reduction would vary depending on how far in advance of FRA that she starts drawing the widow's benefits. The closer she is to FRA when she starts drawing, the lower the applicable percentage reduction. Any such reduction would be permanent and would not go away when she reaches FRA, assuming that none of her benefits end up being withheld due to her earnings (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html).

If your wife is at least FRA at the time she starts drawing widow's benefits, she would be eligible for a benefit rate equal to the higher of a) her own rate, or b) your full benefit rate. Drawing her own benefits earlier than FRA would not affect your wife's benefit rate as a widow. And, if you die before she reaches FRA, your wife could choose to draw just her own benefits and wait until FRA to apply for unreduced widow's benefits. Your wife may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of the options available to her in order to determine the best strategy for maximizing her benefits.

Best, Jerry