Is survivor FRA 66 years and 8 months for 1959 birthdate? Confused about earnings limit rules

You're correct about your FRA for survivor benefits being 66 and 8 months since you were born in 1959. And yes, once you reach your FRA, there is NO earnings limit - you can earn as much as you want without any reduction in your survivor benefits.\n\nHowever, if you claim survivor benefits before your FRA, the 2025 earnings limit is $22,320 per year (or $59,520 in the year you reach FRA, counting only earnings before the month you reach FRA). Exceeding these limits means $1 in benefits withheld for every $2 earned above the limit.\n\nAnd yes, your FRA for your own retirement benefits is different - it's 66 and 10 months for people born in 1959. This dual FRA system confuses many people!

Thank you so much for clarifying! So if I wait until 66 and 8 months to claim survivor benefits, I can keep working at my current salary without any benefit reduction. That's a huge relief. \n\nIs there any advantage to taking survivor benefits before my own retirement benefits? I've heard this strategy mentioned but don't fully understand it.

my wife went thru this last yr after my brother passed. its super confusng!!! she thought fra was same for everything but its NOT. she lost 3 months of payments bcuz ssa gave her wrong info!!!

Oh no, that's terrible! Did she ever get those 3 months of payments back? I'm worried about getting incorrect information since I can never seem to reach anyone at SSA by phone.

To add to what others have said, there's a potentially valuable strategy available to you. Since survivor benefits and retirement benefits have different FRAs, you can actually claim one benefit type first and then switch to the other later.\n\nFor example, you could claim reduced survivor benefits at 60 (accepting the earnings limit until FRA), then switch to your own retirement benefit at age 70 if it would be higher due to delayed retirement credits. Or claim survivors at FRA (avoiding the earnings test) and switch to your own benefit later.\n\nYour best strategy depends on the relative amounts of both benefit types and your life expectancy. This is one of the few remaining

I tried doing this and the lady at SSA told me I COULDN'T do this!!! She said once I choose either survivor or retirement I'm STUCK with that choice forever!!! Who's right here??? This is why I HATE dealing with Social Security!!!

The SSA rep was 100% WRONG! You absolutely CAN switch between benefit types - I did exactly this after my husband died. Started survivor benefits at 60 (had to keep my income below the limit), then switched to my own retirement at 70 which gave me a much higher monthly amount.\n\nThe frustrating part is how impossible it is to get accurate information from SSA. I spent WEEKS trying to get through on the phone last year. After 15+ attempts and being disconnected every time, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU\n\nIt was such a relief to finally talk to someone who could verify my options. Worth every penny to not deal with the constant busy signals and disconnections.

Thank you for sharing this! I've been trying to get through to SSA for weeks. I'll definitely check out that service - at this point I just need to speak to someone who can give me accurate information about my specific situation.

my condolences on your loss. this stuff is so hard to figure out when your grieving. when my wife passed i just took whatever they gave me didnt even know there were options

Thank you for your kind words. I'm sorry for your loss as well. It is incredibly difficult to make these decisions while grieving, which is why I'm trying to understand everything now before making any permanent decisions.

Be very careful about the tax implications too! I was shocked when I had to pay taxes on 85% of my SS survivor benefits because my other income pushed me over the threshold. No one at SSA bothered to mention this when I applied.\n\nIf you're making $68k, you'll definitely have a significant portion of your benefits taxed. Might want to consider increasing your withholding or making quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid a surprise tax bill.

Oh wow, I hadn't even thought about the tax implications. That's a really good point. I'll definitely need to factor that into my financial planning. Do you know if there's a calculator on the SSA website that can help estimate how much of my benefits would be taxable?

I was born in 1959 too and JUST went through figuring all this out!!! The 66 and 8 months is RIGHT for survivors FRA but here's what NOBODY tells you - if you're working, they count it as MONTHLY earnings before FRA not yearly!!! So in the months before you hit FRA in the year you reach it, you're allowed $4,960 per month (for 2025). They don't care if you made $30k in January and $0 the rest of the year - they count it MONTHLY when you're in that gap year!!!\n\nThis system is CRAZY complicated and the rules change every time I call!!! 😡😡😡

This isn't entirely accurate. In the year you reach FRA, the earnings test only counts earnings BEFORE the month you reach FRA. But it's still an annual limit of $59,520 for 2025, not monthly. Once you reach your FRA month, earnings don't count at all regardless of amount.\n\nFor years before the year you reach FRA, it's an annual limit of $22,320 with $1 withheld for every $2 over the limit. SSA does adjust which months they withhold benefits based on your pattern of earnings, but the test itself is annual until the year you reach FRA.

To address your question about the advantage of taking survivor benefits before your own retirement benefits: \n\nThe key advantage is that your own retirement benefits earn delayed retirement credits (8% per year) if you wait past your FRA up to age 70, but survivor benefits DON'T increase after survivor FRA.\n\nSo if your own retirement benefit at age 70 would be higher than your survivor benefit, it often makes sense to take the survivor benefit at its FRA (66+8mo in your case), then switch to your own retirement benefit at 70.\n\nConversely, if your survivor benefit is higher than your retirement benefit would ever be, you might take a reduced retirement benefit early and switch to survivors at its FRA.\n\nThis is one of the most complex claiming decisions in Social Security and often benefits from professional analysis specific to your situation.

That makes so much sense now! My survivor benefit would be about $2,400/month at FRA, while my own benefit at FRA would be around $2,200. So it sounds like taking the survivor benefit at 66+8mo and then switching to my own benefit at 70 (when it would be higher due to delayed credits) could be my best option. I think I need to get an appointment with someone at SSA to review my specific numbers. Thank you for explaining this so clearly!

my neighbor said they always mess up payments. she got wrong amount for like 5 months before they fixed it. make sure u check everythng twice

This happened to me too! They underpaid me for 4 months before I noticed. The backpay was a hassle to get straightened out. Keep detailed records of EVERYTHING and check your bank account against the benefit verification letter they send you.