Can I collect my deceased husband's Social Security at 60 with pension income limits? How will it affect my own SS benefits?

Yes, you CAN collect survivor benefits at 60, but there are several factors to consider: 1. The earnings test will apply until you reach your Full Retirement Age (FRA). For 2025, if you're under FRA, SSA will deduct $1 for every $2 you earn above $23,520. Your combined income of $63,000 means you'll face a substantial reduction. 2. Your teacher's pension may trigger the Government Pension Offset (GPO) which can reduce survivor benefits by 2/3 of your pension amount if your teaching job didn't pay into Social Security. 3. Taking survivor benefits early (at 60 instead of your FRA) will permanently reduce them by about 28.5%. The good news: You can switch to your own higher retirement benefit later without penalty. This strategy (taking reduced survivors now, own benefit later) often works well despite the earnings test.

When my husband passed away I was 58 and tried to get his benefits at 60 too. BIG MISTAKE!!! The SSA took FOREVER to process my application and then told me I couldn't get anything because I made "too much money" from my job!!! They never explained this earnings limit before I applied!!! I wasted 4 months going back and forth with them and got NOTHING. The whole system is a SCAM designed to keep widows from getting what they deserve!!!

I went through this exact situation last year. Here's what you need to know based on my experience: 1. Yes, you can file for survivor benefits at 60, but with your income ($48K pension + $15K part-time), you'll hit the earnings limit hard. For every $2 you earn above the $23,520 limit, they'll deduct $1 from your benefits. 2. Since your teaching position paid into Social Security, the GPO won't apply to you (that's a relief!). 3. The smart strategy is exactly what you're thinking - claim survivors at 60 (or whenever you stop working if that makes more sense), then switch to your own higher benefit at your Full Retirement Age. 4. You can run calculations on the SSA website using their estimator tools, but with your income level, you might not see much benefit until you either reduce work hours or reach FRA when the earnings test disappears. Pro tip: When you apply, make absolutely sure they understand you're only claiming SURVIVOR benefits and want to claim your own retirement benefit later. They sometimes confuse this and it can cause major problems.

my sister went thru this 2 yrs ago and found something interesting. the earnings limit only applies to WAGES not pension!! the ssa only counts the $15k part time job against the limit not your pension. At least thats what they told her. anybody else hear this??

After struggling to reach SSA for weeks about a similar survivor benefit question, I discovered Claimyr (claimyr.com). It got me connected to a real SSA agent in under 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours or getting disconnected. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I finally spoke with a representative, they confirmed what others here are saying - only your work income ($15K) counts toward the earnings test, not your pension. The agent calculated my specific reduction and helped me decide if filing early made sense. Sometimes having your exact numbers from SSA makes the decision clearer than general advice.

wait i'm confused... so do you get to collect both your pension AND your husbands social security at the same time? or do they reduce one because of the other? how does that work exactly?

Thanks everyone for the helpful information! I'm relieved to learn that my pension doesn't count toward the earnings test - that changes everything. Based on your advice, it seems like I should: 1. Apply for survivor benefits right at 60 2. Understand I'll face some reduction due to my $15K part-time income 3. Later switch to my own retirement benefit at my FRA I'm going to try using that Claimyr service to get specific numbers from SSA before making my final decision. It's so helpful to hear from others who've been through this complicated process!

BE CAREFUL!! Even with the pension not counting, they'll still reduce your survivors benefit by 28.5% for taking it at 60 instead of waiting till your full retirement age!!! That's a PERMANENT reduction!!! The SSA doesn't make this clear until AFTER you apply!!!