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Can my 62-year-old brother claim survivor benefits from ex-wife's Social Security while still working full-time?
My brother (62) is struggling financially after a divorce that wiped out his retirement savings. He's working full-time but barely making ends meet. His ex-wife passed away from cancer about 2 years ago, and they were married for over 10 years before divorcing. He never remarried.My family and I are wondering if he's eligible for survivor benefits from his deceased ex-wife's Social Security record? If so, how does he start that process?Also, if he does qualify, can he continue working full-time while receiving these benefits? He hasn't started collecting his own Social Security yet since he's still working.Any advice would be greatly appreciated! We're trying to help him figure out his options.
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Salim Nasir
MY EXPERIENCE: Filed Jan 15th, picked Feb as start month, got first payment March 15th (3rd Wed since birthday is 18th). Exactly as scheduled. Most people don't have problems if paperwork is all correct.
Chris Elmeda
•That's reassuring to hear! I submitted all my paperwork, and the SSA representative said everything looked in order. Fingers crossed it goes as smoothly for me as it did for you.
Just wondering has anybody had their payment date wrong on their letter? My sister got her first one and the date was wrong based on her birthday so she called and they fixed it but it was super confusing
yes!!! thats what happened to me!!! they had my bday wrong in system somehow even tho i gave them my id and everything!!
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Trying to contact SSA to ask questions like this is IMPOSSIBLE these days!! I tried calling for THREE WEEKS straight and couldn't get through. Then I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with confirmed everything the first commenter said - you can't do restricted applications anymore if you were born after 1954. Saved me from making a big mistake with my filing strategy.
Luca Conti
•This is good advice. Getting accurate information directly from SSA is critical for making these decisions. While the rules I outlined are correct, everyone's situation has unique aspects that might affect their optimal filing strategy.
Zara Ahmed
•I tried calling the SS office for MONTHS! Keep getting busy signals or disconnected. Might check out that service, getting frustrated trying to figure this out on my own.
Thanks everyone for the helpful responses! It sounds like my best option is to simply wait until 70 to maximize my own benefit, since the restricted application strategy isn't available to me. I'll encourage my spouse to stick with their plan to file at their FRA. We're fortunate to have savings to bridge the gap until then. I really appreciate all the insights and personal experiences shared here. Social Security filing strategies are so much more complicated than I initially thought!
Sounds like you've made a good decision based on your circumstances. One final tip: about 3-4 months before you plan to file at 70, create a my Social Security account at ssa.gov if you haven't already. This will let you verify your earnings record is correct and get familiar with the online application process. Good luck with your retirement planning!
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James Maki
Just wanted to update everyone - the site appears to be back online now. I just successfully logged into my account. They seem to have made some changes to the security questions and login process, so you might need to verify your identity again when you first log in.
You're right! I just tried and it's working now. Had to answer an extra security question but I'm in. Thanks everyone for your help!
Lilly Curtis
Is anyone else noticing the benefit calculator showing different amounts than before the maintenance? Mine seems to be about $75 higher per month than what it showed last week. Not complaining but wondering if they updated the COLA calculations or something?
Kayla Morgan
•Good catch! They've implemented the 2025 COLA adjustments in the calculator now. The official COLA announcement came last week (3.2%), so your estimates should reflect the increased payment amounts going forward. They typically update these calculations during maintenance periods.
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Ethan Moore
just wanna say hang in there. the system is designed to wear us down. took me 2 years but i finally got approved.
One important thing to understand about the SSDI process: the SSA has what they call the "sequential evaluation process" - five steps they use to determine disability: 1. Are you working above SGA level? ($1,550/month in 2025) 2. Is your condition "severe"? 3. Does your condition meet or equal a medical listing? 4. Can you do your past work? 5. Can you do any work in the national economy? Based on your description, they denied you at step 5 - they're saying despite your MS, they believe you can do some type of work. This is where you need to focus your appeal. For MS specifically, compile evidence related to: - Fatigue levels throughout the day (time-specific documentation) - Cognitive issues like memory problems, focus, concentration - Motor control difficulties - Vision problems if applicable - Need for rest periods throughout the day Demonstrate why these symptoms make even sedentary work impossible to sustain consistently.
Luca Bianchi
•This is incredibly helpful - thank you! I didn't realize they had such a specific process for evaluating claims. I'll focus on documenting exactly how my symptoms would impact ANY job, not just my current one.
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Thank you all for the responses! I feel much better now knowing this is a normal part of the process. I'll go ahead and deposit the check. It's just confusing that it doesn't show up in the online system, but it sounds like that's unfortunately common with these partial first payments.
Alicia Stern
•Glad we could help! Social security has a lot of weird little quirks like this that nobody tells u about until after ur confused lol
Drake
One more thing - make sure that you keep track of this payment for tax purposes since it won't show in your online account. Depending on your other income, you might have to pay taxes on part of your social security benefits. This $348.90 would count toward your total SS benefits received for the year. Just something to keep in mind when tax time comes around next year!
That's a great point - I hadn't thought about the tax implications. I'll make a note of this payment for my records. Thanks for looking out!
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Did anyone else think the example numbers the SSA lady used seem really low?? $1,320 + $1,040 = $2,360 for a total benefit?? My dad was getting almost that much 10 years ago! Just seemed weird to me.
I noticed that too! Average SS retirement is around $1,900/month now, and that's just average. The numbers in the example seemed way off unless her husband had a very short work history or something.
Ava Garcia
•Those were just example numbers the rep used to explain the concept - not our actual benefit amounts! Our actual numbers are higher. Sorry for the confusion.
Social Security survivor benefit expert here. Let me clarify exactly what's happening: 1. As a surviving spouse at FRA, you're entitled to 100% of your deceased husband's benefit amount. 2. How SSA processes this internally: - They pay your own retirement benefit first - Then they add a "partial survivor benefit" to reach the total - The sum equals your husband's full benefit amount 3. Why they suggested filing for your retirement: - Retirement claims process faster than survivor claims - You'll get some income (your retirement + 6 months backpay) while waiting - When the survivor portion is approved, your total will equal your husband's benefit - You'll also get retroactive survivor payments back to the month after his passing 4. This dual-entitlement processing is standard procedure and doesn't reduce your total benefit. The rep was actually trying to help you by suggesting this approach. It gets money in your pocket faster while the more complex survivor portion processes.
Ava Garcia
•Thank you so much for explaining this so clearly! I feel much better now understanding how it all works. I'll definitely follow up with SSA about getting my own retirement started while they process the survivor portion. This has been so helpful.
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I appreciate everyone's help here. I had no idea the GPO would likely eliminate all spousal benefits in our situation. We'll need to adjust our retirement budget accordingly. One more question: if I delay my benefits past FRA to increase my amount, would that change the spousal calculation enough to help? Or is the GPO reduction still likely to eliminate everything regardless?
Zara Mirza
Delaying your benefits would increase the potential spousal benefit (which is 50% of your PIA), but the GPO reduction remains the same - 2/3 of her pension amount. With a $2,800 pension, the GPO reduction is about $1,867. So your benefit would need to increase to where 50% of it exceeds $1,867 before she'd see any spousal amount. At maximum delayed retirement (age 70), your $3,200 benefit might grow to around $4,000. Half of that would be $2,000, which would only provide about $133/month in spousal benefits after GPO reduction ($2,000 - $1,867). You'd have to decide if delaying your benefit is worth it for that small spousal amount.
Thanks for that calculation. It seems like the GPO makes the delay strategy much less valuable for couples in our situation. I'll need to consider whether delaying makes sense just for my own longevity protection rather than for spousal benefit purposes.
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My buddy at work says his mom did this exact thing and she gets way more money now than her friends who didn't know about this strategy. Smart thinking!
One final point I want to clarify - you mentioned switching at 65, but you might want to consider waiting until your Full Retirement Age (probably 67) or even age 70 to switch to your own benefit if you can afford to do so. Your own retirement benefit continues to grow until age 70, increasing approximately 8% per year past your FRA. This could significantly increase your lifetime benefits if you're in good health and expect to live into your 80s or beyond.
Donna Cline
•That's really good to know. I'm in excellent health (besides the normal aches and pains of getting older), and longevity runs in my family. My mother is 87 and still going strong. I'll definitely look into whether I could wait until 67 or even 70 to maximize my own benefit. Thank you for all your help!
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QuantumQuest
Typically, it takes about 1-2 months after approval to receive the first payment. As for backpay, he can receive benefits for up to 6 months retroactively from the date of application (not from her death date), but no earlier than the month he turned 62. So if he just turned 62, backpay would only be from that month forward. If he's been 62 for over 6 months, he could receive up to 6 months of backpay.I'm glad he's moving forward with applying! Be sure he specifically asks about the strategy of taking survivor benefits now and his own retirement later - sometimes SSA reps don't automatically explain all options unless specifically asked.
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Zainab Ibrahim
Thank you! I'll make sure he knows to ask specifically about that strategy. I appreciate everyone's help so much - this group has been incredibly informative!
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