Do COLA increases apply to survivor benefits amounts while waiting to collect?

Yes, your survivor benefit estimates WILL increase with COLA each year while you wait to claim them. The fact that your husband passed doesn't freeze the benefit amount. The SSA applies COLAs to the basic benefit amount even for deceased workers. This is actually an important planning consideration. Many widow(er)s don't realize that survivor benefits continue growing with inflation even after their spouse has passed away. These COLA increases are applied to the basic benefit calculation before any reduction for claiming early or increase for delayed retirement credits.

my mom had the same question last yr, she was so confused by all the paperwork from SSA. they ended up telling her yes the amount grows with cola but she still doesn't understand how they calculate it lol

I went through this exact situation after my wife passed in 2022. The survivor benefit estimates DO receive COLA adjustments each year. However, there's an important distinction: the COLA is applied to your husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is the base benefit amount he would have received at his full retirement age. This means that each January when Social Security announces a COLA increase, that percentage is applied to your potential survivor benefits, even while you're waiting to claim them. For example, if there's a 3.2% COLA for 2026, all the benefit amounts you're looking at would increase by that percentage. One other thing to consider in your planning - survivor benefits are the one type of Social Security where you can switch strategies. You could take your OWN retirement benefit at 62 and then switch to the survivor benefit at your FRA to get the maximum amount, or vice versa depending on which benefit is larger.

The amounts increase with COLA! I was so relieved when I found this out after my husband passed. The survivor benefit I'm getting now is quite a bit higher than what they initially told me 3 years ago because of those increases.

While everyone is correct that COLAs apply to survivor benefits, be aware that the actual calculation is somewhat complicated. The COLA is applied to your late husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is then used to determine your survivor benefit. Also important - if your husband claimed his benefits early before passing, your maximum survivor benefit would be limited by the "RIB-LIM" rule (Retirement Insurance Benefit Limitation). This can get extremely confusing as it depends on multiple factors including your age, his age when he claimed, and when he passed away. I'd strongly recommend scheduling an appointment with SSA to discuss your specific situation, but as you probably know, getting through to them can be incredibly frustrating. I recently used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to SSA without the endless waiting. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. It saved me hours of waiting and disconnected calls when I needed to sort out my own survivor benefits issues.

i think u should just take it at 60 thats what i did. money now is better than maybe more money later who knows if any of us will live to see 70 anyway

This COLA stuff is SO CONFUSING!!! I've been trying to figure this out for my situation too but every time I call Social Security they tell me something different!! One person said COLAs apply, another said they don't until I'm actually receiving the benefit?? I don't know who to believe anymore. The whole system feels designed to confuse us. Has anyone here actually SEEN the COLA increases show up on their statements year after year before claiming??? I need PROOF not just what they claim will happen!!

I just want to add that when my statement came this year, the amounts WERE higher than last year because of the COLA. So I can confirm from personal experience that yes, they do increase while you wait!

question - does anyone know if its different if ur spouse was already getting disability before they passed? thats my situation