Can my brother claim Social Security survivor benefits 10 years after spouse's death?

YES he absolutely can still claim survivor benefits!! There's no time limit for applying. I waited 7 years after my husband died before I claimed his benefits. Your brother needs to call SSA right away because he might be leaving money on the table every month.

Your brother may be eligible for survivor benefits, but it depends on several factors. As a widower, he can receive up to 100% of his deceased wife's benefit amount if he waits until his full retirement age (FRA) to claim them. However, since he's already collecting his own retirement benefits, SSA will pay whichever benefit is higher - not both. If his wife's work record would provide a higher monthly benefit than his current $2,100, he should definitely apply. He'll need her death certificate, their marriage certificate, and both Social Security numbers when he applies. There's no deadline for applying for survivor benefits.

I went through something similar with my father. One important thing to know - the SSA won't automatically check if survivor benefits would be higher than your brother's own retirement benefit. He MUST specifically apply for survivor benefits. And no, unfortunately there are no retroactive payments going back 10 years - at most he might get 6 months of back payments from when he applies.

I tried calling about survivor benifits after my wife died and was on hold for HOURS and then got disconnected!!!! TWICE!!! The SSA is impossible to reach by phone these days. Your brother will waste days trying to get thru to someone.

One thing that confuses me about SS survivor benefits - doesn't it matter how old his wife was when she died? Since she was only 58, would she have even been eligible for SS benefits? I thought you had to be receiving benefits already for your spouse to get survivor benefits later. Can someone explain this?

ALSO he should know that he CANT apply for survivor benefits online!!!!! I tried and wasted hours filling out forms before finding out you have to call or go in person. The SSA website is SO frustrating and unclear about this.

Something else your brother should consider - if he's already 64 and his FRA is 67 (for people born in 1960 or later), he's receiving a reduced retirement benefit by claiming early. This might make switching to survivor benefits more advantageous if his wife had a strong earnings record. The reduction for early retirement doesn't apply the same way to survivor benefits.

my sister got survivor benefits 15 years after her husband died so yes its possible. good luck getting anyone at SS to answer the phone tho lol

One final point that might help your brother: When he speaks with SSA, he should specifically ask them to run a computation for BOTH benefits - his own reduced retirement benefit AND what he'd receive as a survivor. The higher amount is what he'll get going forward. If the survivor benefit is higher, they'll essentially switch him to that benefit and discontinue his own retirement benefit.