Confused about survivor benefits timing - SS agent says wait until 66 and 10 months but online says 66 and 6 months?

The SSA rep is definitely wrong. For survivor benefits, the FRA is different than for your own retirement benefits. If you were born in 1959, your survivor FRA is 66 and 6 months, not 66 and 10 months. This is a common mistake even agents make. And yes, you absolutely can request a month-by-month breakdown of what you would receive at different filing ages for survivor benefits. It's called the "month-by-month breakdown" or sometimes informally called a "matrix." Not all SSA reps know about this option, unfortunately. I would suggest calling back and speaking with a different representative. Make sure to specifically ask for the month-by-month breakdown of survivor benefits based on your date of birth.

i had the SAME EXACT ISSUE when my husband passed!!! the first person i talked to told me i had to wait til my full retirement age (67 for me) but thats WRONG! survivor benefits have a different FRA!! called back and got someone else who knew what they were talking about. definitely call again. and yes they CAN give you a breakdown of what youd get at different ages, i got one!

The confusion here is understandable. There are indeed two different Full Retirement Ages - one for your own retirement benefits and one for survivor benefits. For someone born in 1959: - FRA for retirement benefits: 66 years, 10 months - FRA for survivor benefits: 66 years, 6 months As for what you'll receive, it's not necessarily exactly what your husband was getting. If he claimed benefits early, you could potentially get more than he was receiving (up to his Primary Insurance Amount). If he delayed past his FRA, you would get the amount including his delayed retirement credits. Regarding the month-by-month breakdown (sometimes called a matrix), this is absolutely something you can request. Some representatives are more familiar with it than others. When you call back, you might say: "I'd like to request a month-by-month breakdown showing what my survivor benefit amount would be if I claim at different ages."

Have you tried going to your local SSA office in person? Sometimes you can get better help face to face than over the phone. Just my 2 cents.

I've been through this exact situation and wasted months going back and forth with SS on the phone. After getting disconnected dozens of times and receiving conflicting information, I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Once I finally got through to someone knowledgeable at SSA, I confirmed my survivor FRA was indeed different than my retirement FRA. I also requested and received the month-by-month breakdown showing all my options. Made a huge difference in my planning!

@user8 - Yes, it definitely worked for me. I was skeptical too but after spending hours on hold and getting disconnected repeatedly, I was desperate. Got through to an agent in about 15 minutes. Worth it to finally get my questions answered by someone who knew what they were talking about.

One more important thing to note - since you're already collecting your own retirement benefits, when you switch to survivor benefits, you'll want to time it perfectly. Since you took your own benefits early (at 63), they're permanently reduced. When you switch to survivor benefits at your survivor FRA (66 and 6 months), you'll get 100% of your husband's benefit amount (either what he was receiving or his PIA if he claimed early). Make sure to apply about 3-4 months before you reach 66 and 6 months. The application can take time to process, and you want the switch to happen at exactly the right moment to maximize your benefits.

my condolences on your loss btw. this stuff is hard enough without having to deal with confusing government bureaucracy.

I HATE how they make this so confusing!!! I swear they do it ON PURPOSE so people miss out on benefits they deserve. My neighbor's sister got the wrong info from SS and ended up claiming survivor benefits TOO EARLY and now she's stuck with a lower amount FOREVER!! The whole system is broken if their own employees don't even know the correct rules!!!

Update: I called SSA again today and spoke with a different representative. This one confirmed that my survivor FRA is indeed 66 and 6 months, not 66 and 10 months! They also provided me with the month-by-month breakdown showing what I would receive at different ages. Turns out if I wait until my survivor FRA, I'll get about $2,450 per month, which is a big improvement over my current $1,850. Thank you all for the advice and encouragement to call back! I feel much better about my decision now.