Confused about survivor benefits - does surviving spouse get deceased's FRA amount or age 70 increased benefit?
My husband and I have been planning our retirement and recently started discussing what happens down the road with survivor benefits. He's earned significantly more than me throughout our careers, and I'm trying to understand exactly what I'd receive if he passes away first. If my husband waits until age 70 to claim his Social Security (getting those delayed retirement credits), and then passes away, would I receive that higher age-70 amount as a survivor? Or would I only get what his benefit would have been at his full retirement age (which is 67 for him)? I'm 63 now and he's 65. My FRA benefit would be around $1,800 while his would be closer to $3,100 at his FRA, but over $3,900 if he waits until 70. I've heard conflicting information from friends - some say I'd get his actual benefit amount at death and others say I'd only get his FRA amount regardless of when he claimed. Can someone please clarify this? It makes a huge difference in our planning. Thanks!
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Connor O'Reilly
Good news! As a surviving spouse, you would receive the HIGHER of either your own benefit OR what your husband was receiving at the time of his death. So if he waits until 70 to claim (getting those valuable delayed retirement credits) and then passes away, you would be eligible for that higher amount - the $3,900 in your example. This is actually one of the best Social Security planning strategies for married couples with significant earnings differences. The higher earner delays until 70 to maximize not just their own benefit but also the potential survivor benefit for the lower-earning spouse. Just make sure that when the time comes, you explicitly apply for survivor benefits. They don't happen automatically, and many people miss out because they don't realize they need to contact SSA specifically about this.
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Zainab Yusuf
•Oh that's such a relief! Thank you for explaining this so clearly. So it sounds like it would be best for him to wait until 70 to maximize his benefit, which would also maximize what I'd potentially receive as a survivor. Do you know if I need to be at my own full retirement age to get his full benefit amount? Or can I claim survivor benefits at any age if he passes away?
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Yara Khoury
What the previous commenter said is correct, but I want to add an important detail. If you claim survivor benefits BEFORE your full retirement age, they will be reduced. The reduction is approximately 0.396% for each month before your FRA (up to 28.5% if you claim at age 60). So if your husband passes away and you're still under your FRA, you have a decision to make: claim reduced survivor benefits early OR wait until your FRA to get the full amount he was receiving. Also, another strategy to consider: you could take your OWN reduced retirement benefit early (say at 62) and then switch to the survivor benefit at your FRA. Or vice versa depending on the amounts. This can sometimes maximize your lifetime benefits.
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Keisha Taylor
•my friends sister did this! she took her own benefit at 62 (it was small anyway) and then when her husband died last year she switched to his much bigger benefit. shes getting like $2,000 more a month now! the SSA people never told her about this option tho, she had to figure it out herself.
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StardustSeeker
The guy who said you'd get his age 70 benefit is right BUT good luck actually getting this all sorted with SSA!! My husband passed away 7 months ago and I'm STILL fighting with them to get the correct survivor benefit amount. They initially calculated it based on his FRA even though he had delayed claiming until 69. I've called at least 20 times and visited the office twice and they keep saying "it's being processed" or "we need to review his earnings record" or some other excuse. EVERY SINGLE TIME I call SSA I get disconnected or wait on hold for 2+ hours only to get someone who can't help. It's absolutely INFURIATING!!!
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Paolo Marino
•I had a similar nightmare scenario last year when trying to sort out survivor benefits after my wife passed. After weeks of failed calls and office visits, I found a service called Claimyr that helped me actually get through to SSA without the endless hold times. You can see how it works in their video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU It was such a relief to finally talk to someone who could help fix my benefit calculation. Their system got me through to an agent in about 15 minutes when I had been trying unsuccessfully for weeks. Website is claimyr.com if you're interested.
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Amina Bah
im confused. I thought survivor benefits were always 100% of whatever the deceased person was getting?? thats what happened when my mom died, my dad got her exact same payment added to his. or wait maybe that was something different
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Connor O'Reilly
•You're mixing up a few different concepts here. When someone passes away, the surviving spouse doesn't get BOTH benefits added together. They get the higher of either their own benefit OR the deceased spouse's benefit (including any delayed retirement credits if the deceased waited beyond FRA). What may have happened with your parents is that your dad was already receiving his own benefit, then when your mom passed away, he applied for survivor benefits and started receiving her amount instead because it was higher than his own. But he wouldn't be receiving both full amounts combined.
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Oliver Becker
I went thru this exact situation when my husband passed away 3 years ago. He had delayed filing until age 70, and I was able to get his full age-70 amount as my survivor benefit. That said, there are some details you need to be aware of: 1. You need his complete earnings record and benefit verification when you apply 2. It takes about 3-4 months for survivor benefits to start processing 3. They will pay retroactively to the month of death if you apply within 6 months 4. You CANNOT do this online - must be in person or phone 5. If you're still working, the earnings test might reduce your survivor benefits until you reach your FRA Hope this helps with your planning! Having gone through it, I'm thankful my husband delayed until 70 - it made a huge difference for me financially.
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Zainab Yusuf
•Thank you so much for sharing your real experience with this. It's reassuring to hear from someone who's actually been through it and confirms I would get his age 70 amount. Did you have any issues with the SSA calculating the correct amount, or did they get it right from the beginning?
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Keisha Taylor
My brother works at SSA and he always tells people to max out the higher earner's benefit by waiting till 70 exactly for this reason!!! The survivor benefit includes all those delayed retirement credits. Its like getting insurance for the lower earning spouse. Smart that ur thinking about this now!!
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Yara Khoury
•Your brother is giving good advice. Financial planners often call this the "free insurance policy" aspect of Social Security. By having the higher earner delay until 70, they're essentially buying a higher survivor benefit for their spouse at no additional cost. The mathematical breakeven point for delaying benefits can be debated, but the survivor benefit aspect often tips the scales heavily in favor of the higher earner delaying as long as possible - especially with the significant earnings difference the original poster mentioned.
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Zainab Yusuf
Thank you all for the helpful responses! This clarifies things a lot. It sounds like the best strategy is definitely for my husband to delay until 70 to maximize what I might receive as a survivor benefit later on. I'm also going to look into that service that was mentioned for when the time comes to actually deal with SSA. The stories about the difficulties getting through to them and getting the correct benefit calculated are concerning. One last question - does anyone know if there's a good way to estimate exactly what the survivor benefit would be? Is there a calculation tool on the SSA website I could use?
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Connor O'Reilly
•The SSA has a survivor benefits calculator here: https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/survivors/survivorchartred.html However, for your specific situation (estimating a future benefit based on your husband delaying until 70), your best bet is to create a my Social Security account online if you haven't already. Once there, you can see your earnings record and benefit estimates. Your husband should do the same. His age 70 benefit estimate shown in his account would be approximately what you'd receive as a survivor benefit if you're at or past your FRA when you claim it. The calculator will also show what he'd receive at different claiming ages, including the higher amount at age 70.
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