Can I collect my deceased husband's Social Security benefits at 65 while still working?

Yes, you can claim survivor benefits as early as age 60 (or 50 if disabled), but there's more to consider here. At 65, you can claim survivor benefits based on your late husband's record, but since you're still working, you may be subject to the earnings test if you haven't reached your Full Retirement Age (FRA) yet. If your earnings exceed $22,680 in 2025 (the annual limit), SSA will withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that limit. Once you reach your FRA (likely 66-67 depending on birth year), the earnings test no longer applies. The strategy you mentioned (claiming survivor benefits while letting your own retirement benefit grow) can be smart. Your own retirement benefits continue to grow until age 70, increasing by 8% per year beyond your FRA.

What your coworker told you is partially correct. I was in a similar situation last year. You CAN collect survivor benefits and continue working, but there's an earnings limit that will reduce your benefits if you haven't reached your Full Retirement Age. In my case, I was collecting my late husband's benefit but only getting about half of it because of the earnings test. The GREAT news is that once you reach your Full Retirement Age (probably 66+some months for you), you can work and earn as much as you want with NO reduction in benefits. After dealing with busy signals and disconnections for THREE DAYS trying to get specific answers from SSA about my situation, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in under 10 minutes. Check out their demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - website is claimyr.com. Totally worth it to get my specific questions answered by an actual SSA person.

My neighbor just went through this exact scenario!!! She turned 65 and she started getting her dead husbands SS check but she only gets like $200 a month because she makes too much money at her job. Said something about earnings limit. She said when she turns 67 (her FRA) she will get the full amount even if shes still working.

I think you're confusing SSI with regular Social Security. SSI is the one with income limits. Regular SS retirement has no income limit but it can affect your tax sitation. I waited until 70 to collect and it was the best decisinon I made financially because my benefit was MUCH larger.

When my husband died i got survivor benefits at 61 and was still working. They took alot out because of my salary but I still got $320 every month. It helped with groceries. Then when I hit FRA last year they stoped taking money out and now I get the full amount even though im still at the same job. Just make sure your husband worked long enough to qualify.

The key issue here is your Full Retirement Age (FRA). Based on the information provided, you're turning 65 soon, which means you were likely born around 1960. If so, your FRA is 67. Here's what you need to understand: 1) You can claim survivor benefits at 65, but they'll be reduced because you're claiming before your FRA. 2) With annual earnings of $72,000, you're substantially above the 2025 earnings limit of $22,680. This means approximately $24,660 of your annual survivor benefits would be withheld (($72,000-$22,680)/2). 3) If your late husband's benefit at your FRA would be $2,500/month ($30,000/year), you'd effectively receive around $5,340/year after the earnings test reduction. 4) When you reach your FRA at 67, the earnings test disappears. You can then collect full survivor benefits while working. 5) You could continue receiving survivor benefits until age 70, then switch to your own retirement benefit if it would be higher at that point (having grown by 8% per year between your FRA and 70). I recommend scheduling an appointment with SSA to run calculations based on your specific situation.

I just remembered something else important!!!! If your taking survivors benefits now DOESNT affect your own benefits later! Its not like if you take your own early. My sister in law is doing the survivor now and will switch to her own at 70 for maximum money.

the ssa people always tell you different things when you call im on disability and they gave me wrong info THREE TIMES!!! go in person if you can

Thank you everyone for all the helpful information! I've learned so much. Based on your advice, I'm going to: 1. Schedule an appointment with SSA to get exact calculations for my situation 2. Consider taking reduced survivor benefits now, even with the earnings test reduction 3. Plan to receive full survivor benefits when I reach my FRA at 67 4. Switch to my own retirement benefit at 70 if it would be higher It sounds like this approach will allow me to get some additional income now while maximizing my benefits in the long run. I'll update after my SSA appointment if I learn anything else useful!