Can I receive Social Security survivor benefits at 62 while working and switch to my own benefit at FRA?

Yes, your understanding is mostly correct! You can claim survivor benefits now at 62 (reduced for early claiming) and they'll be subject to the earnings test while you're working. Then at your FRA (67), you can switch to your own retirement benefit if it would be higher. A few important details: 1. Survivor benefits at 62 are reduced to 71.5% of what your husband would have received 2. The 2025 earnings limit is $23,520, so every $2 you earn above that means $1 less in benefits 3. Once you reach FRA, the earnings test disappears completely I'd recommend making an appointment rather than calling - you'll get more dedicated time with a representative for this kind of planning.

I tried calling SSA for WEEKS about my survivor benefits last year. Completely impossible to get through! I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Worth it to avoid the frustration, especially for something as important as making sure your claiming strategy is right. I was able to confirm all my options and make an informed decision.

DONT TRUST WHAT RANDOM PPL TELL YOU ABOUT SS BENEFITS!!! I got told the EXACT same thing when my wife died, but when I finally got thru to SSA they told me something COMPLETELY different about how my benefits would work! The agents there contradict each other too!!! The whole system is designed to cheat you out of benefits you EARNED. Make sure you DEMAND to speak to a supervisor or technical expert when you call. They hide the truth from you otherwise!

im in a similar situation my husband passed 2 yrs ago. i tried calling but couldnt get thru so i went to the local office last month. they confirmed what ur thinking is right but said with ur income u might not get much until u reach fra or cut back hours. but its still worth applying bc even if u get a small amount now its extra $ and u can switch later

I thought survivor benefits and spousal benefits were the same thing? My neighbor gets survivors but I get spousal benefits from my ex-husband who's still alive. Are we talking about the same benefit or is this something different? Social Security is so confusing!

One important detail that hasn't been mentioned: if you were born after 1954, the "restricted application" strategy works ONLY for survivor benefits, not for spousal benefits. This means you're correct that you can take reduced survivor benefits now (subject to earnings test reductions) and then switch to your own retirement benefit at FRA if it's higher. With your income level ($67,000 mentioned in a comment), you would lose approximately $21,740 of benefits to the earnings test annually: ($67,000 - $23,520) ÷ 2 = $21,740 So if your full survivor benefit after the 71.5% reduction would be less than $1,811 monthly, you might not receive any payments until you reduce hours or reach FRA.

My condolences on losing your husband. I went through this too and waited on hold with SS for almost 4 hours!! When I finally got someone they were helpful but it was so frustrating. Definitely make an appointment if you can. The earnings limit thing is real - I had to reduce my hours at work to actually see any survivor money before my FRA.

when you talk to ssa ask them what happens if u work part time instead of full time. i reduced to 25 hrs a week and now i get some survivors and its working better for me. less stress too

Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! I've scheduled an appointment at my local SSA office for next week, and I'm gathering all the documents suggested. I'm going to ask about various scenarios with reduced hours too. It sounds like my original understanding was mostly correct, but the earnings test will likely eliminate most of my survivor benefits unless I cut back on work. I'll update after my appointment in case it helps anyone else in a similar situation.