Concerned about unexpected high Social Security survivor benefit amount - can SSA reduce it later?

Yes, your mother-in-law can absolutely request her deceased husband's earnings record! She should call SSA and specifically ask for a "Request for Social Security Earnings Information" (Form SSA-7050). As his widow, she has a right to this information. Regarding your second question, it's somewhat rare but it does happen. SSA occasionally makes what they call "administrative errors" in calculating benefits. If they discover an error, they can reduce benefits going forward. The good news is that if the error was their fault (not due to incorrect information provided by the beneficiary), they often waive repayment of past overpayments, especially if the person can show they'd experience financial hardship.

my mom had something similar happen!! the ssa told her she would get like $3200 for survivors and then 6 months later they sent a letter saying it was actually supposed to be $2600 and she owed them money back. it was a nightmare for her. she had to do a waiver thing for the overpayment but at least they fixed it going forward. tell ur MIL to be careful!!!

Several important things your mother-in-law should understand about survivor benefits: 1. The benefit amount is based on the deceased's primary insurance amount (PIA) at the time of death OR what the deceased would be receiving if they were still alive at the survivor's FRA, whichever is higher. 2. Early career earnings can significantly impact benefits, especially if they were high-earning years. Each year is indexed for inflation, so even earnings from the 1980s or 1990s can translate to substantial benefit amounts today. 3. The maximum survivor benefit for someone at FRA in 2025 is around $4,555, so $3,750 is high but certainly possible if your father-in-law had significant earnings in his early career. I strongly recommend she request an appointment with a claims specialist at her local SSA office to review the calculation in detail. They can explain exactly how they arrived at that figure using his earnings record. Get everything in writing.

Just wanted to chime in that Social Security calculations are SUPER confusing! I thought I understood how my own retirement benefit was calculated and was still off by almost $300/month when I finally got my first payment. The way they index older earnings for inflation and only count the top 35 years is complicated math that most people don't understand.

I had a nightmare trying to get appointments with SSA after my husband died last year. Kept getting disconnected or told to call back another day. Finally found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real agent without the endless waiting. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Worth every penny to actually talk to a real person who could help me figure out my survivor benefits. Your MIL should definitely talk to an actual agent to get this sorted out properly instead of worrying.

The SSA makes mistakes ALL THE TIME!!! My sister's widow benefit was calculated wrong and they didn't figure it out for EIGHT MONTHS, then demanded $14,000 BACK!!! She had to file for a waiver and go through MONTHS of stress and appeals before they finally forgave the overpayment since it was THEIR ERROR not hers!!! Tell your MIL not to make ANY major financial decisions based on that amount until she gets WRITTEN CONFIRMATION and has an agent EXPLAIN the calculation IN DETAIL!!! The system is BROKEN and they will make HER pay for THEIR MISTAKES!!!

I work with seniors on retirement planning. One thing to understand is that survivor benefits are calculated differently than retirement benefits. If your father-in-law had already started receiving benefits when he died, your mother-in-law would generally receive what he was getting. If he hadn't started benefits yet, she would receive what he would have gotten at his FRA. His early career earnings could absolutely result in a high benefit if he had substantial income during those years. The benefit calculation uses the highest 35 years of indexed earnings, not just the most recent years. As others have mentioned, she can and should request his earnings record. She should also ask for a detailed explanation of how they calculated the benefit amount - specifically ask for a "PEBES" (Personal Earnings and Benefit Estimate Statement) which breaks down the calculation.

btw does your MIL have her own work record? if shes been working too she might have to choose between her own retirement benefit and the survivor benefit, they don't stack

One more piece of advice - your mother-in-law should request a "Benefits Planning Query" (BPQY) from SSA. This will provide a comprehensive overview of her entitlement to various benefits including survivors benefits, and will serve as written documentation of what SSA is calculating. Having this document could be helpful if there are any issues later. Also, once she starts receiving benefits, she should carefully review her first benefit verification letter. This will outline her benefit amount and provide another layer of documentation.

My condolences on your father-in-law's passing. Just to share my experience - when my husband died, I was really confused about the whole survivor benefit process too. The amount they told me seemed too high at first, but it turned out to be correct. One thing that helped me was talking to other widows in my church group who'd been through the same process. Sometimes hearing from regular people who've navigated the same system is reassuring.