Just found out my ex-husband died - Can I collect Social Security survivor benefits before my FRA of 67?

Yes, you can absolutely do this strategy! The FRA for survivor benefits is different than for retirement benefits. For someone born in 1958, survivor FRA is 66 and 8 months. Since you're already past that age at 67, you can claim unreduced survivor benefits immediately while letting your own retirement benefits grow until 70. This is called the "restricted application for survivor benefits" and it's one of the few remaining claiming strategies that still works well. Your survivor benefit would be 100% of what your ex-husband was receiving (or would have received at his FRA if he hadn't claimed yet). Start the application process ASAP - survivor claims can't be filed online. You'll need his death certificate, your marriage certificate, divorce decree, and your birth certificate.

im sorry about ur ex. i did this exact thing when my ex died last year. took his benefit at 67 and waiting till 70 for mine. the SSA people made it confusing tho cuz first they said i couldnt do it then a different person said i could. make sure u talk to someone who KNOWS THE RULES!!

THE SSA WILL SCREW THIS UP IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL!!! When my sister tried to do this exact strategy last year, they initially DENIED her claim saying she couldn't collect on her ex-spouse!! She had to make THREE SEPARATE APPOINTMENTS and bring in the divorce decree EACH TIME before someone finally processed it correctly. They are understaffed and undertrained and YOU will pay the price if you don't know your rights!!! Make sure you specifically say "I want to file a restricted application for survivor benefits only" and GET NAMES of everyone you talk to!!!

I had a similar situation when my ex passed and getting through to SSA was a nightmare. After being disconnected multiple times and waiting on hold for hours, I found this service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of the usual 2+ hour wait. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU It was worth it because the agent was able to walk me through exactly what documents I needed and scheduled me for an in-person appointment to process the survivor application. Like others said, you definitely want to get this right the first time because fixing mistakes with SSA can take months.

You've gotten good advice here, but I want to add some detail. Since you were married for 18 years (over the 10-year minimum) and haven't remarried, you're 100% eligible for survivor benefits on your ex's record. The survivor FRA for someone born in 1958 is 66 and 8 months, which you've already passed. So you can get 100% of his benefit amount NOW, and then switch to your own retirement benefit at 70 when it will be 132% of your PIA (Primary Insurance Amount). This is literally the optimal strategy in your situation. Your own benefit will increase by 8% per year from your FRA until age 70 (technically it's 2/3% per month). So waiting until 70 means a 24% increase from your FRA amount (if your FRA is 67). Call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 first thing in the morning when they open (avoid Mondays and the first week of the month when they're busiest). Be prepared for a long wait.

My mom did EXACTLY this when my dad passed 3 years ago. She took his benefit at 66 and is waiting til 70 to switch to hers. But what nobody told her is that they automatically do something called "deemed filing" now where they give you whichever benefit is higher. So make sure you specifically say you want ONLY the survivor benefit right now. Mom almost got stuck with her lower benefit because the SSA person didn't process it right. Good luck!

dont wait too long!! i think theres a time limit to claim survivor bnefits after death. like 6 months? or maybe thats just when they backpay to. someone else probably knows better than me

Here's another WARNING for everyone!!! If you're already receiving retirement benefits on your OWN record, you CAN'T switch to just taking survivor benefits!!! The rules CHANGED in 2015 with that awful budget act! Once you've filed for your own retirement, you're DEEMED to have filed for ALL benefits! The ONLY exception is if you were born before January 2, 1954 which it sounds like you were! Check your birth year!

when you call ssa make sure you write down EVERYTHING they tell you!!! my aunt got different answers from 3 different people! also they backdate survivor benefits to the month of death if you file within 6 months