Can I switch from my own Social Security to survivor benefits after withdrawing retirement application?

Yes, you can absolutely do this! I'm a retired financial planner who specialized in Social Security strategies. Here's what you need to know: - Since you haven't received payments yet, your withdrawal should be straightforward (no repayment needed) - There's no waiting period between withdrawal and applying for survivor benefits - At your FRA, you can switch from survivor to retirement benefits if your own benefit is higher This strategy (survivor benefits now, own retirement later) is often the most financially advantageous for widows/widowers. Your own retirement benefit will continue growing until age 70 if you want to delay even longer. Make sure to explicitly state on your SSA-521 that you're withdrawing to apply for survivor benefits instead. Follow up with a call to confirm they received your withdrawal form.

i did almost the same thing except i actually got 2 payments before i figured out i messed up. had to pay back everything but it was worth it. the survivor benefit was like $500 more per month for me than my own ss at 62. definitely do the withdrawal!

When my husband passed in 2021 the SSA people told me NOTHING about these options!!! Just automatically put me on survivors and never mentioned I could switch later. The whole system is designed to confuse us and pay out less. I would have been better off doing the opposite of what you're doing (taking my own at 62, then switching to survivor at my FRA). Now I'm stuck. ALWAYS get outside advice before filing anything with SSA.

I've helped many clients with this exact situation. Your financial advisor is giving good advice. The 12-month withdrawal window is specifically designed for situations like yours where you need to reconsider your filing strategy. One important thing to understand: survivor benefits reach maximum value at your FRA, while your own retirement benefits reach maximum at age 70. So the optimal strategy is often: 1. Take reduced survivor benefits at age 60-62 2. Switch to your own retirement at 70 OR 1. Take reduced retirement benefits at 62 2. Switch to full survivor benefits at your FRA Which is better depends on the specific benefit amounts. The difference between these strategies can mean tens of thousands of dollars over your lifetime. Also, be extremely clear when talking to SSA representatives. Many don't understand these complex switching strategies and might give incorrect information. Sometimes you need to speak with a technical expert.

You're fine!! I did the EXACT same thing when my wife passed. Thought I needed to file RIGHT AWAY. Turns out I was leaving money on the table! I submitted my withdrawal form and started over with survivor benefits. The only annoying part was it took like 4 weeks to process everything and I had to keep calling to check on status.

I see a lot of good advice here but just wanted to add that getting through to anyone at SSA to confirm your withdrawal is IMPOSSIBLE these days! I spent 3 weeks calling about my disability review and never got through. Just constant busy signals or disconnects after waiting 2+ hours. I finally found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in under 10 minutes after weeks of trying myself. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Worth it to avoid the frustration, especially for something important like fixing your filing strategy mistake!

Just to clarify a technical point: Survivor benefits can be taken as early as age 60 (or 50 if disabled), while retirement benefits start at 62. Since you're 60, you can't actually get retirement benefits yet - are you sure you filed for retirement and not survivor benefits? If you did somehow apply for retirement, the SSA should have automatically rejected it since you're not eligible until 62. This makes me wonder if there's some confusion about what type of benefits you actually applied for. I'd recommend checking your MySocialSecurity account to see exactly what application is pending, then calling SSA to clarify before submitting any withdrawal forms. There's a chance you may have actually applied for survivor benefits already.

my frend at church went thru this exact thing,,, she got widows benifits for 5 yrs then switched to her own at 67 and got an extra $329 every month!!! definatly fill out that withdraw form asap!!!!

Based on the benefit amounts you shared ($3,100 for your own at 70 vs $2,400 for survivor at FRA), I can confirm your advisor's strategy makes sense. Taking survivor benefits now and switching to your own at 70 would maximize your lifetime benefits. Just one more important point: since you haven't received any payments yet, your withdrawal should be processed without requiring any repayment. Make sure you submit both the withdrawal form AND a new application for survivor benefits at the same time to minimize any gap in processing. And don't worry - this type of correction is exactly why the withdrawal provision exists. You haven't made any permanent mistake here.