How much in survivor benefits can I expect at 60? SS office won't give estimate until I apply

You absolutely can get an estimate before applying! The SSA rep gave you incorrect information. There are several ways to estimate your survivor benefits: 1. Create a my Social Security account online and view your deceased wife's earnings record (you'll need to verify your identity) 2. Use the survivor benefits calculator on SSA.gov, though it's somewhat simplified 3. Call SSA again and specifically request a "survivor benefit estimate" - some reps don't know this is possible 4. Visit your local SSA office in person with your ID and your wife's death certificate At 60, you'd receive about 71.5% of your wife's full retirement benefit amount. Based on her earnings history, this could be roughly $1,600-2,000 monthly, but that's just my educated guess without knowing her complete work record. Keep in mind that if you work while receiving benefits before your full retirement age (67), you'll be subject to the earnings test, which could reduce your benefits temporarily.

u can just multiply her PIA by 71.5% that's ur benefit at 60. if u wait til ur FRA ull get 100% of her PIA. google "social security PIA calculator" and put in her earnings to figure it out. the SS ppl r usually clueless when u call

I went through this exact same situation last year when I was planning for claiming survivor benefits after my husband passed. The key is calling SSA repeatedly until you get someone who actually knows what they're talking about. It took me 5 calls! Ultimately, what worked for me was requesting a "SURVIVOR BENEFIT CALCULATION" specifically using those words. They can absolutely provide an estimate – they just aren't trained properly. In my experience, you'll save yourself hours of frustration by using Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent quickly. I was skeptical at first, but after spending days trying to get through the regular line, I tried it and connected to an agent in minutes. Their video demo shows exactly how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once you do get an estimation, make sure you also ask about the earnings limitation since you plan to keep working. At your age and income level, that will significantly impact your benefit amount.

OMG the SSA is THE WORST!!!! I tried getting survivor benefit info when my husband died in 2019 and they kept telling me different things EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I called! One person said I'd get about $1900/month, another said $1400, and a third person told me they couldn't estimate at all!!! I ended up just waiting until I was ready to apply (I was 61) and guess what? It was $1650 - right in the middle of the previous estimates. The whole system is BROKEN!!!!

Quick follow-up on the earnings limit question: For 2025, if you claim at 60, the earnings limit will likely be around $22,500 (it increases slightly each year with inflation). For every $2 you earn above that limit, your benefits are reduced by $1. With your $72,000 income, you'd be about $49,500 over the limit, which means your benefits could be reduced by approximately $24,750 for the year. If you reduced to $45,000, you'd still be $22,500 over the limit with a reduction of about $11,250. This is why many people working full-time choose to wait until their Full Retirement Age to claim, as the earnings test no longer applies after FRA.

I'm not sure why everyone is making this so complicated. Just go to ssa.gov and create an account. You can see your deceased spouse's earnings record there. The system won't calculate your survivor benefit directly, but at least you'll have the earnings information to work with. That's what I did when my wife passed.

Based on the information you've provided, I'll try to give you a rough estimate. If your wife worked for 20 years making around $65,000 in her final years, her Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) might be approximately $2,200-2,500 per month if she had reached Full Retirement Age. At age 60, survivor benefits are reduced to 71.5% of that amount, so you might receive around $1,570-1,785 per month. However, as others have mentioned, the earnings test would significantly impact this if you're still working. With a $72,000 income, most or all of your survivor benefits could be withheld until you reach Full Retirement Age or reduce your work income. I'd suggest making an in-person appointment at your local SSA office. Bring your ID, your wife's death certificate, and marriage certificate. In-person appointments often yield better results than phone calls.

my condolences for your loss. i found that when dealing with SS, emails work better than calls. they have to respond and theres a record of what they told you. try emailing them for the estimate instead of calling.

Thanks everyone for your helpful responses. I've learned so much! I created my SSA account but couldn't find a way to see my wife's records there. I'm going to try calling again using the specific wording suggested here about requesting a "survivor benefit calculation." Based on everyone's input, I'm now rethinking my strategy. With the earnings test, it might make more sense to wait until closer to my FRA since I plan to continue working. I had no idea that making $72k would essentially wipe out most of the survivor benefit at age 60. I'm going to make an in-person appointment at my local office to get concrete numbers. If the phone waits are as bad as they've been in the past, I might try that Claimyr service someone mentioned. I'll update here once I get more information from SSA!