Can my husband claim survivor benefits on my Social Security record if I die before applying at age 70?

Yes, your husband would absolutely be eligible for survivor benefits based on your record even if you die before claiming. The SSA will calculate what your benefit would have been at the time of your death - including all delayed retirement credits you earned up to that point. This is sometimes called the "ghost benefit" or "deemed filing" for survivors. As the surviving spouse of a 40-year marriage, he'd receive 100% of what you would have received when you died, assuming it's higher than his own benefit.

My mom just went through this EXACT situation!! My dad was waiting till 70 but died at 68 and never filed. SSA was a NIGHTMARE to deal with, took almost 4 months to get her survivor benefits sorted out, they kept saying he never applied so there was no benefit!!! We had to talk to like 6 different people and finally a supervisor figured it out. Just warning you that while yes it SHOULD work like the other person said, be prepared for problems if this actually happens!!!!

u should both just take benefits now, why wait? gov could change rules anytime and the $ now is better than promises later, just my 2 cents

I was worried about the same thing when my sister died before claiming! She was waiting until 70 but passed at 67. Her husband did get survivor benefits based on her record, but one thing to keep in mind - there was a lot of paperwork. Make sure your husband knows where all your earnings records are kept, your SSN, and has copies of your marriage certificate and birth certificate. Also have copies of your tax returns for the last few years. He'll need all of this when applying for survivor benefits. The SSA was helpful but they kept asking for more documentation.

My husband and I did the same thing! He took his at 66 and I waited. Trust me, those calls to Social Security were AWFUL. Spent 3 hours on hold last month just trying to ask a question about my application.

One important technical detail to understand: if you die before claiming, your husband would receive what's called the "RIB-LIM" benefit. This is essentially what your age-70 benefit would have been, reduced if you die before reaching 70 (you only get DRCs up to your month of death). Because you've been married over 9 months and your husband is already at FRA, he would get 100% of this amount. The advantage of your strategy is that by waiting, you're potentially leaving him with a much larger survivor benefit than he'd get otherwise. It's generally an excellent approach when the higher earner delays as long as possible.

I want to add - if either of you have been married before, this can get SUPER complicated! My uncle thought he'd get survivor benefits from his second wife but turns out his first marriage caused problems with the claim. Just make sure neither of you have any ex-spouses who might also be eligible for benefits on your records!!

this reminds me i need to figure out my own ss stuff, just turned 62 last month and got that packet in the mail but havent opened it yet lol

Thank you everyone for all the helpful responses! I feel much better knowing that our strategy is sound. I'll make sure to organize all our documentation in case something happens to me before I file at 70. I appreciate all your insights and personal experiences - this community is wonderful.