Can my widow friend collect Social Security survivor benefits at 60 with rental income?

Yes, your friend can qualify for survivor benefits at 60. The marriage duration requirement is at least 9 months in most cases, which she meets (1 year). However, she should know that filing at 60 means she'll only get about 71.5% of her late husband's full benefit amount instead of 100% if she waited until her Full Retirement Age. As for the rental income question - this is a common misconception. The SSA only counts EARNED income toward the earnings limit. Rental income is considered UNEARNED income (passive income) as long as she's not operating the rentals as an active business where she materially participates. So those rental checks shouldn't affect her survivor benefits at all!

WAIT A MINUTE. The rental income thing is NOT so simple!!! If your friend is actively managing those properties herself (like finding tenants, doing repairs, collecting rent in person, etc.) the SSA MIGHT consider it self-employment income which DOES count toward the earnings limit!!! I had this EXACT problem and lost almost $4,000 in benefits because I didn't know this. The SSA considers it based on how many hours you spend managing properties and if you're acting like a "business." They are NOT fair about this!!!

my mom was in similar situation and all that matters is if the rental income is on Schedule E (passive income) vs Schedule C (self-employment). most landlords file on Schedule E unless they're providing substantial services like a hotel or b&b. as long as she just collects rent and handles basic landlord stuff it stays on Schedule E and doesn't count for earnings test

I went through something similar. The survivor benefit at 60 is tempting but remember its permanently reduced! If your friend has her own work record she might want to take survivor benefits now and switch to her own retirement at 70 for maximum benefit. Or vice versa depending on which is higher. Thats what I did and it worked out great!

One thing no one's mentioned - your friend needs to contact SSA directly and verify her eligibility. The one-year marriage would typically qualify her, but there are exceptions and special rules. For example, if her husband's death was accidental, the 9-month requirement might be waived completely. Or if they had a child together, different rules apply. And since she's approaching her 60th birthday, she should initiate the application process soon. Survivor benefits can be applied for up to 3 months before eligibility, and the process takes time. She should gather her marriage certificate, husband's death certificate, and both their Social Security numbers before starting.

If she's having trouble reaching SSA by phone (who isn't?!), she should try using Claimyr. I had the SAME problem trying to sort out survivor benefits last year - couldn't get through for weeks. A friend recommended Claimyr (claimyr.com) and they connected me to a real SSA agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. I was super skeptical but desperate, and it actually worked! Saved me weeks of frustration.

btw didnt see anyone mention that her FRA for survivor benefits might be different than regular retirement FRA. For ppl born after 1962 the survivor FRA is 67 but for others its less. makes a difference on the reduction calculation

Your friend should also be aware that if she remarries before age 60, she'll lose eligibility for survivor benefits on her late husband's record. However, once she turns 60, she can remarry without losing those benefits. This is different from spousal benefits (for divorced spouses) where remarriage at any age typically ends eligibility. Also, if your friend is still working (aside from the rental properties), she needs to be aware of the earnings test. For 2024, if she's under FRA for the whole year, SSA will deduct $1 for every $2 she earns above $21,240. This limit is adjusted annually for inflation.

my aunt got survivors at 60 and said the hardest part was just getting thru to ssa. the application itself wasnt bad once she finally got an appointment

One more important thing about survivor benefits that's easy to miss - they can include a one-time death benefit payment of $255. It's not much, but if it hasn't been claimed yet, your friend should ask about it when she applies for the monthly survivor benefit. There's a time limit for claiming it, but since you mentioned her husband passed 4 years ago, she may have already received this or it may be too late. Still worth asking about though.

Just wanted to add something that might help your friend - she should also consider getting a Social Security statement (available at ssa.gov/myaccount) to see her own work history and estimated benefits. This will help her compare her potential retirement benefit at 70 versus the survivor benefit she can get now. Also, regarding the rental properties, I'd suggest she keeps detailed records of her time spent on property management activities. Even if it's currently considered passive income, SSA can review this later, and having documentation showing minimal hours spent will protect her if questions arise. A simple log showing dates and hours for property-related tasks should be sufficient. One last tip - when she does apply, she should ask specifically about "protective filing." This can establish an earlier application date even if she doesn't have all documents ready immediately, which could mean backdated benefits in some cases.

Just wanted to share my experience as someone who recently went through this process. Your friend's situation sounds very similar to mine - I was widowed young and had to navigate the survivor benefits system at 60. A few things that really helped me: First, I'd strongly recommend she creates a my Social Security account online BEFORE applying. This lets her see her late husband's earnings record and get an estimate of what her survivor benefit would be. It also shows her own work history so she can compare benefits. Second, regarding the rental income concern - I also own rental property and was worried about this. The key distinction is whether you're a "real estate professional" under tax law. If she's spending less than 750 hours per year AND less than half her working time on rental activities, it stays passive income. Sounds like with only a few properties and using management companies, she's nowhere near that threshold. The application process itself was actually smoother than I expected once I got connected to SSA. I used that Claimyr service others mentioned after weeks of busy signals - worked exactly as described. The whole call took about 45 minutes and I had my first payment within 6 weeks. One thing I wish I'd known earlier - she can apply up to 4 months before her 60th birthday, so if she's turning 60 next month, she could potentially start the process now. The benefits can start the month she turns 60, but there's often processing time involved. Hope this helps your friend! Feel free to ask if you have other questions.