One more thing - if your husband worked this year already before passing, make sure to bring his final paystubs. Sometimes the earnings for the current year haven't been reported to SSA yet and that could affect your benefit amount. They calculated my mom's benefit wrong initially because they didn't have my dad's last 3 months of work.

Regarding your age - just to clarify since there seems to be some confusion in comments. For survivor benefits, you can claim as early as age 60 (50 if disabled), but with maximum reduction. At 61 and 10 months (when you'll be 62), you'll still have a reduction but not as severe as taking them exactly at 61. If you need the money now, don't let people make you feel bad about claiming early. That's exactly why the option exists.

Did you know they might owe you retroactive benefits too? When my sister filed for survivors after her husband passed, they gave her six months of back payments from before she applied! Might be worth asking about.

Thank you everyone for all the helpful information! I've decided to schedule an appointment with SSA to discuss my options. I'll gather my documentation (marriage certificate, her death certificate, our birth certificates) before going in. Since I'm earning well above the earnings limit right now, I'll probably wait until closer to my full retirement age before applying, but it's such a relief to know this option exists! I had no idea I could still claim these benefits after all these years.

this is why i tell everyone to record phone calls with ss or get everything in writing!!! they mess up all the time and then we're the ones who suffer

Based on your additional information, I think you're dealing with two separate issues that might be getting confused: 1. Social Security spousal benefits: If you filed at 69, you should actually get MORE than 50% of your husband's benefit due to delayed retirement credits, not less. The 6-month retroactive payment limitation is correct, unfortunately. 2. Medicare penalties: This is likely a separate issue. The late enrollment penalty for Medicare Part B adds 10% to your premium for each 12-month period you could have had Part B but didn't. However, if you had creditable employer coverage, you should have qualified for a Special Enrollment Period with NO penalty. I suspect the $410 vs $925 difference isn't just about penalties - it might be that they calculated your benefit incorrectly or applied the wrong formula entirely. At this point, I strongly recommend requesting a detailed benefit calculation explanation from SSA in writing. Ask specifically for a breakdown of how they arrived at $410 instead of $925. Once you have that, the error might become clearer and easier to appeal.

Has anyone here actually had success getting through the WEP reduction? My dad just retired from teaching and they cut his SS by almost half and were super nasty about it when he asked questions!!! He worked construction for 15 years before teaching and now they're acting like those years don't count!!!

To answer your original question directly: This is NOT double dipping. The Supreme Court has clearly established that survivor benefits and your own retirement benefits are separate entitlements. GPO may reduce the amount, but you are fully entitled to apply for and receive survivor benefits even while receiving your own retirement benefit. One crucial point I should add - you'll want to specifically request a "survivor benefit calculation with GPO consideration" when you contact SSA. Many representatives don't deal with GPO cases regularly and might give incorrect information if you don't use the specific terminology. If your calculated survivor benefit after GPO ends up higher than your current WEP-reduced benefit, they will pay you the difference.

Thank you all for the informative responses! I've learned so much - especially that I should be thinking about maximizing to age 70, not 72. It sounds like the best approach is for me to wait until 70 since I'm the higher earner, which would maximize my benefit and potentially my husband's survivor benefit if I pass away first. Even though my waiting won't increase his spousal benefit (which I didn't realize), the overall household strategy seems to favor delaying. I'm going to look into working until at least 68 and reassess our savings at that point. The distinction between how spousal vs. survivor benefits work was the missing piece I needed!

One other factor to consider: if your husband has his own substantial work record, his spousal benefit might not even come into play. Spousal benefits are only paid if they're higher than the person's own retirement benefit. If he's been a good earner throughout his career, he might just collect on his own record anyway. Also worth noting - you mentioned saving more. If you're still working, you might consider putting more into retirement accounts rather than focusing solely on the Social Security timing question. Increasing your savings rate for the next few years could have a significant impact too.