my mom got dads SS when he passed but she said she had to wait til she was 60 to claim it, so theres definintely some age rules involved to

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! Based on what I'm understanding: 1. Yes, I would get 100% of my wife's benefit if she passes away after starting her benefits (assuming I'm at my FRA) 2. It might be worth having her delay until 70 to maximize those potential survivor benefits 3. I'll need to file paperwork with SSA and provide documentation when the time comes 4. Different rules apply if she passes before starting benefits This has been really educational and gives us some things to consider in our retirement planning. I appreciate all the responses!

Just wondering but r u still working? Cuz that could affect survivor benefits before FRA but I think once your at FRA there's no earnings limit anymore? Someone correct me if I'm wrong about that!!

so sorry for ur loss

You mentioned your FRA benefit would be $2400 and your husband's is $3200. Honestly with those numbers, you probably want to focus on maximizing your own benefit rather than spousal benefits anyway. If you took spousal at your FRA, you'd get $1600 (half of his). If you took it early at 62, you'd get even less - around $1120. That's a lot less than your own benefit even with early filing reductions. Have you considered when you actually need the income? If you can wait until 70, your $2400 FRA benefit becomes around $3000/month. That's the permanent value of delaying.

One more thing to consider: survivor benefits. If either of you passes away, the surviving spouse gets to keep the higher of the two benefit amounts. If you expect your husband to have a longer life expectancy, then maximizing your benefit might not be as important. But if you think you might outlive him, having him maximize his benefit by waiting until 70 could provide you with a larger survivor benefit later. Running the numbers with a financial advisor who specializes in Social Security claiming strategies might be worthwhile given your benefit amounts.

one more thing nobody mentioned - divorced spouse benefits are only available if he isn't remarried!!! if he got remarried after your divorce then completely different rules apply

A quick note on benefit amounts: the maximum divorced spousal benefit at FRA is 50% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is what you'd receive at your FRA (not necessarily what you're currently receiving on SSDI). Since your ex would be claiming early at 64, his benefit would be reduced to approximately 35-37% of your PIA. Also, I want to emphasize again that if he has his own Social Security benefit, he'll only receive the higher of either his own benefit or the divorced spousal benefit - not both. This is why getting accurate calculations from SSA is so important before making any decisions.

I had a similar situation with my late husband. One thing that hasn't been mentioned yet - if your sister does qualify for survivor benefits but is still under her full retirement age when she starts collecting, the benefit amount will be reduced. At age 60 (the earliest a non-disabled widow can claim), she would get about 71.5% of his full benefit amount. Each month she waits after that increases the percentage slightly until she reaches her full retirement age (probably around 67 for her age), when she would get 100% of his benefit. If she qualifies as a disabled widow and starts benefits at age 50, the reduction is even more significant - about 71.5% of his benefit. But sometimes getting some money earlier is better than waiting for the full amount. Also, while the 9-month marriage rule is generally firm, there are very specific exceptions. One exception is if the death was accidental. This probably won't apply in a terminal illness situation, but worth knowing.

To answer your follow-up question: Yes, if she claims survivor benefits early (either at 50 as a disabled widow or at 60 as a non-disabled widow), the reduction is permanent. Unlike retirement benefits, survivor benefits do not automatically increase to 100% when she reaches her full retirement age. Regarding the benefit amount - she would receive a percentage of what he's getting now, based on when she claims. At her full retirement age, that would be 100% of his current SSDI benefit. If she claims earlier, it would be a reduced percentage. One other option they might consider - if they get married and he lives at least 9 months, but she doesn't qualify for disabled widow benefits, she could apply for spousal benefits at age 62 (reduced) while he's still alive. Then after he passes, she could switch to survivor benefits, which are generally higher than spousal benefits.