Can I claim my deceased ex-husband's Social Security survivor benefits at 60 then switch to my own retirement at FRA?

yes u can get survivor benfits from exhusbnd if u were married 10+ years. thats the rule. but if u take it at 60 it will be reduced permanantly. i think like 30% less than full amount.

Sorry about your ex. I went through something similar last year. It's a lot to deal with emotionally and then having to figure out all these benefits on top of it.

You've got the basic facts right. Since you were married for more than 10 years (17 in your case) and haven't remarried, you qualify as a surviving divorced spouse. You can claim those survivor benefits as early as age 60, but they will be reduced for claiming early - approximately 28.5% reduction if taken at 60 compared to your full retirement age. The good news is that your plan is completely valid. You can: 1. Take the reduced survivor benefits at 60 2. Let your own retirement benefit grow until your FRA (or even up to 70 if you want maximum growth) 3. Switch to your own retirement benefit when it exceeds the survivor benefit This is one of the few remaining strategies where you can claim one benefit type and later switch to another. The reduction for taking survivor benefits early will NOT affect your own retirement benefit when you switch. Just remember that if you're working while collecting survivor benefits before your FRA, you'll be subject to the earnings test, which could temporarily reduce your benefits.

THE SSA WILL MAKE IT SO COMPLICATED!!! I tried to do something similar and they kept sending me conflicting information. One letter would say one thing, the next letter something else. And good luck actually TALKING to someone to get it straight. I spent 2 WEEKS trying to get through on the phone!!!!

I had trouble reaching SSA too until I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting for hours or days. It saved me so much time and frustration - especially important when dealing with survivor benefits which can be complicated. Their website is claimyr.com and they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Regarding your situation, something important to consider is that the earnings limit for 2025 is $22,560 if you're under FRA. So if you're earning more than that, $1 in benefits will be withheld for every $2 you earn above the limit. You may want to calculate if it makes sense to claim survivors now or wait.

My grandma went thru this when my grandpa died. She got sooo confused because she thought SSI and survivor benefits were the same thing and the social security people kept telling her different things every time she called. They ended up giving her the wrong benefit and she had to fight for months to fix it!

Just went through this exact thing! I turned 60 in January and started getting my ex's survivor benefits. We were married 14 years. My own benefit will be bigger when I hit 67, so I'm planning to switch. One thing nobody told me - you need his death certificate when you apply. Took me weeks to track that down since we'd been divorced for years. Also make sure you have your marriage certificate AND divorce decree ready when you apply.

Regarding your question about working while receiving benefits: If you're earning significantly more than the earnings limit ($22,560 in 2025), you might want to consider waiting. However, there's something important to understand about the earnings test. Any benefits withheld because of your earnings aren't truly "lost" - when you reach FRA, SSA will recalculate your benefit amount to credit you for the months when benefits were withheld. To make the best decision, you should calculate: 1. How much your survivor benefit would be at 60 (SSA can tell you this) 2. How much would be withheld based on your expected earnings 3. How much your own retirement benefit will be at FRA Sometimes it still makes financial sense to claim early even with the earnings test, especially since your own benefit continues to grow separately.

I'm in a similar boat but I'm already 63. My ex died and I was going to claim his benefits but the SS office said mine would be higher soon anyway so it wasn't worth the hassle for me. Every situation is different tho!