Can I take my own Social Security at 65 and switch to higher survivor benefits at 70?

You're absolutely right to be planning this carefully! Unlike spousal benefits, survivor benefits actually give you some flexibility. You CAN take one benefit first and switch to the other later if it would result in a higher payment. Here's what you should know: 1. If you take your own retirement benefit early (before your FRA of 67), it will be permanently reduced 2. Survivor benefits reach their maximum at your FRA (not at 70 like retirement benefits) 3. Your own retirement benefit continues to grow until age 70 with delayed retirement credits Based on this, if your own benefit at 70 would be higher than your survivor benefit at FRA, your strategy makes sense. But if your survivor benefit at FRA would be higher than your own at 70, you'd want to take your reduced retirement now and switch to survivor at your FRA (67). The SSA rep should have been able to provide you with estimates for both benefits!

same thing happened to me when my wife died. the ssa people on the phone seem to just read off a script and dont actually know the answers to complicted situations. so frustrating!!!

I think what's happening is that the SSA rep is looking at your survivor benefit at full retirement age (which would be 100% of your husband's benefit) compared to your own benefit at 65 (which would be reduced). But they're not considering what your own benefit would grow to at 70 with delayed credits. You need to get the actual amounts for: 1. Your survivor benefit at your FRA (67) 2. Your own retirement benefit if you wait until 70 Then you can make a proper comparison. It's ridiculous they won't give you these numbers!

wait im confused...i thought u HAD to take survivor benefits first and couldn't take your own benefits ever if you take survivor? or is that the other way around? social security has so many strange rules i can never keep them straight lol

The SSA's handling of your case is TYPICAL of how they operate!! They withhold crucial information and expect us to make life-altering decisions without proper data. I lost my husband 7 years ago and went through the EXACT same frustrating experience. The rep probably doesn't even KNOW how to calculate the numbers! Their training is MINIMAL and they just want to process as many claims as quickly as possible. It's INFURIATING that they're handling something as important as our retirement security!!

To clarify a technical point that's important here: Survivor benefits reach maximum value at your FRA (Full Retirement Age), while your own retirement benefits continue to grow until age 70. If we assume your FRA is 67 (based on your birth year), here's what happens: 1. If you take your retirement at 65, it will be reduced to about 86.7% of your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount) 2. Your survivor benefit at FRA would be 100% of your husband's PIA 3. Your retirement benefit at 70 would be 124% of your PIA So the optimal strategy depends entirely on the relationship between your PIA and your husband's PIA. If your PIA is significantly lower than his, taking your reduced retirement now and switching to survivor at 67 might be best. If your PIA is close to or higher than his, waiting to take your own at 70 might be better. You need those actual PIA values to make this decision.

Thanks everyone for your help! I think I understand better now. The key seems to be finding out my PIA and my husband's PIA so I can compare them. It sounds like I need to find out: - My retirement benefit at age 65 (reduced) - My retirement benefit at age 70 (increased) - My survivor benefit at my FRA (67) Then I can figure out whether I should: 1. Take reduced retirement at 65, then switch to survivor at 67 OR 2. Take survivor at 67, then switch to my own at 70 I'm going to try to get an appointment at my local Social Security office and see if they can give me actual numbers. I'll also check out that Claimyr service if I can't get through. Thanks again everyone!

my cousin works for ssa and she says they have a special calculator for this exact situation but not everyone there knows how to use it. ask for the "mnth" calculation thats what its called i think

I went through a very similar situation when my husband passed away 5 years ago. The lack of clear information from SSA is unfortunately very common, but don't give up! Here's what finally worked for me: I made an in-person appointment at my local SSA office and brought a written list of specific questions. I asked them to print out my complete earnings record and my husband's earnings record, then requested they calculate both scenarios side by side. One thing that might help - when you call or visit, ask specifically for a "restricted application analysis" or "comparative benefit analysis." Sometimes using their technical terms gets you transferred to someone who actually knows how to run these calculations. Also, your SSA.gov account should show your estimated retirement benefits at different ages, but unfortunately it won't show survivor benefit estimates. You'll need to get those numbers directly from them. The good news is that once you have the actual numbers, the decision becomes much clearer. In my case, taking my reduced retirement first and switching to survivor benefits at my FRA was the right choice, but everyone's situation is different based on their respective work histories.