Can my 84-year-old mom claim survivor benefits 3 years after my stepdad died? SSA said no due to FRA

That SSA agent gave your mom completely WRONG information! Age has nothing to do with survivor eligibility. She absolutely CAN receive survivor benefits as a widow, and she should be getting her husband's FULL benefit amount since she's well past FRA. The rule is simple - she gets either her own benefit OR her late husband's, whichever is HIGHER. In her case, she should switch to the $2,400 survivor benefit immediately. Call SSA back ASAP and speak to a different agent. Your mom is potentially losing over $1,300 a month!

my sister went thru something just like this. she was 72 when her husband died and ssa told her she already had her own beneifts so couldnt get his. turns out that was total garbage!!! she ended up having to go into the office with his death certificate and their marriage license. then they finally did it right but they only gave her 6 months backpay even tho shed been trying for almost 2 yrs to get it fixed!!!! make ur mom keep calling until someone helps her!!!!

I think I understand what happened. The agent probably misunderstood and thought you were asking about applying for spousal benefits (which you must apply for before FRA), not survivor benefits. Survivor benefits are completely different. Your mother is absolutely entitled to switch to survivor benefits based on her late husband's record if his benefit amount was higher than hers. There is no age limit for applying for survivor benefits. In fact, at age 84, she should receive 100% of what her husband was receiving. I would suggest calling again and specifically using the term "widow's benefits" or "surviving spouse benefits" to avoid confusion.

I hate calling Social Security - it's ALWAYS a nightmare. Last time I needed to speak to someone about my husband's disability benefits, I was on hold for 2.5 hours and then got disconnected! When I finally got through the next day, the agent gave me completely wrong information that I had to correct by showing them their own policy on their website. So frustrating. BTW, I discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that actually calls SSA for you and holds your place in line. When they reach an agent, they call you and connect you. Saved me HOURS of waiting. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Might be worth it for your mom since this is such an important issue to get resolved quickly.

sorry for your loss. your dad sounds like a good man, 40 years is a long time to be married. i think social security rules are so confusing, even the workers dont understand them half the time lol

Social Security representative here (retired). Let me clarify this situation: 1. There is absolutely NO age limit for claiming survivor benefits. The SSA agent was incorrect. 2. At age 84, your mother is entitled to 100% of her late husband's benefit amount if it exceeds her own. 3. She can receive up to 12 months of retroactive benefits from the date she files, but unfortunately, not for the full 3 years since his passing. 4. She will need to provide: her husband's death certificate, their marriage certificate, both of their Social Security numbers, and possibly her bank information for direct deposit. 5. I recommend she schedule an in-person appointment rather than trying to handle this by phone. The field offices generally have more experienced staff who can handle survivor claims properly. This is a very straightforward case, and she is clearly eligible. Do not take no for an answer.

my condolences to ur mom. i went thru something similar when my husband passed in 2020. I was already 79 at that time and had no problems getting survivors benefits. they actually automatically switched me over when they processed the death certificate. maybe there's something unusual about your mom's situation? did she get any kind of special civil service pension or railroad benefits? those can complicate things with the WEP/GPO rules. or maybe your stepdad had been married before and there's an ex-spouse claiming on his record?

Update: I want to thank everyone for the advice. We called SSA again this morning (took almost 2 hours to get through!) and spoke with a different agent who confirmed mom IS eligible for survivor benefits. They're processing the change now and said she'll receive her husband's higher benefit amount going forward plus 12 months retroactive benefits. The agent couldn't explain why she was given incorrect information before, but we're just relieved it's being fixed now. We're also scheduling an in-person appointment to make sure everything is processed correctly. Thanks again for all your help - this will make such a difference for her financially!