Can I claim my deceased wife's Social Security at 63 while letting mine grow until FRA at 67?
I'm getting ready to retire next month at 63, and trying to figure out the best way to maximize my Social Security benefits. My wife passed away about 3 years ago (she was 63 at the time). Her Social Security benefit was smaller than what mine will be. I was wondering if it's possible for me to claim her survivor benefits now, but hold off on taking my own retirement benefits until I reach my full retirement age at 67? This way my own benefit could continue growing while I still receive some income. Has anyone done this kind of strategy? Is this even allowed by SSA rules? Thanks for any advice you can share!
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PaulineW
Yes, you absolutely can do this! It's called a restricted application for survivor benefits. You can claim survivor benefits as early as age 60 (or 50 if disabled), and then switch to your own retirement benefit later when it reaches its maximum amount. This is one of the few remaining "claim now, claim more later" strategies that still works after the 2015 law changes. I did something similar when my husband passed - took his survivor benefit at 60 and am waiting until 70 to claim my own.
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Maxwell St. Laurent
•Thank you! That's great to hear. Do you know if taking the survivor benefit early (I'm 63) means it will be reduced? Or is that only for regular retirement benefits?
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Annabel Kimball
From what I understand, if u take survivor benefits early (before YOUR full retirement age) they ARE reduced. So u might want to check if waiting til your FRA to take the survivor benefit is better. But yes u can def switch between the two types of benefits!
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Chris Elmeda
•This is correct. Survivor benefits are reduced if taken before your full retirement age. For someone with FRA of 67, taking survivor benefits at 63 means about a 19.6% reduction from the full survivor benefit amount. The question becomes whether 4 years of reduced benefits outweighs waiting for full benefits - usually depends on your health outlook and financial situation. But the strategy of taking survivor benefits (reduced or not) while letting your own benefit grow until 67 is valid and often financially advantageous.
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Jean Claude
you should talk to SS directly because a LOT of people get wrong advice about this stuff. my neighbor thought he could do something similar and then the SS people told him something completely different when he actually applied!!!
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Charity Cohan
•I second this! When I tried calling Social Security about my widow benefits last year, I spent 3 hours on hold and got disconnected twice. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent in about 15 minutes. They have a service that calls SSA for you and connects you when an agent answers. Saved me so much frustration! There's a demo video at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Definitely worth it for important questions like this because you need the right information directly from SSA.
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Josef Tearle
The strategy you're asking about is one of the best options for widows/widowers. It's called "survivor maximization." Since you're already 63, you have a few options: 1. Take reduced survivor benefits now at 63, then switch to your own retirement at 67 (your FRA) 2. Wait until your FRA (67) to take full survivor benefits, then switch to your own retirement at 70 3. Take your own reduced retirement now, then switch to full survivor benefits at your FRA Option 1 or 2 would likely be best if your own benefit will be significantly higher than the survivor benefit. The exact right choice depends on the specific benefit amounts, your health, and financial needs.
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Shelby Bauman
Im confused about something - i thought they just give you whichever is higher between your benefit or the survivor benefit? My mother-in-law just got whatever was highest, she didnt get to pick and choose or switch between them. Maybe the rules changed?
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Chris Elmeda
•You're thinking of spousal benefits (for couples where both are living), which work like you described - you just get the higher of the two. Survivor benefits have different rules. With survivor benefits, you can choose when to take each benefit and can switch between them to maximize your lifetime payout.
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Jean Claude
u should look into whether your wife had reached her FRA when she died because that affects how much u can get too. If she hadn't reached FRA yet then your survivr benefit might be less. Social Security has SOOO many complicated rules!!
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Maxwell St. Laurent
•Good point! I think her FRA was 66 and 6 months, and she was only 63 when she passed. So I'm guessing that will reduce what I can get from her record too. This is getting more complicated than I expected.
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Annabel Kimball
Be VERY careful about this!!! My uncle tried to do something similar and the SSA rep accidentally filed for BOTH benefits at the same time, which messed up his whole strategy! Make sure when you apply you clearly state you ONLY want the survivor benefit, not your retirement. GET IT IN WRITING!
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Josef Tearle
I wanted to add one more point: keep in mind that survivor benefits can be affected by your earnings if you're still working. In 2025, if you earn more than $22,750 while collecting benefits before your FRA, SSA will deduct $1 for every $2 you earn above that limit. The earnings test no longer applies once you reach your full retirement age.
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Maxwell St. Laurent
•That's important to know. I was planning to do some part-time consulting work that might put me over that limit. Maybe I need to reconsider my whole plan and just wait until 67 to claim anything. This is way more complicated than I thought it would be.
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PaulineW
One thing I wanted to mention - when I was applying for survivor benefits, my friend gave me a tip to specifically request an appointment with a claims specialist who handles survivor benefits. Not all reps are equally knowledgeable about all benefit types. It made a huge difference in my case because the specialist caught something that would have reduced my benefit that the previous person I spoke with missed completely.
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