Maximizing Social Security benefits: Spousal vs. Survivor benefits timing when husband is terminally ill
I need help understanding Social Security spousal benefit timing for my sister-in-law. Her husband (age 69) is already collecting his retirement benefits, but unfortunately has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer with maybe 1-2 years left. She turns 65 next month and hasn't filed for anything yet. She worked part-time jobs most of her life, so her own benefit would be minimal (around $650/month). Looking at her SS statement, it shows her full retirement age is 66 and 10 months for maximum spousal benefits. She's torn between starting benefits now at a reduced rate versus waiting until FRA. The complicating factor is knowing she'll eventually become eligible for survivor benefits when her husband passes. Would starting reduced spousal benefits now affect her eventual survivor benefits? Should she contact SSA directly to get specific numbers for her situation? She's really stressed about making the wrong decision during this already difficult time.
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Danielle Campbell
I'm sorry about your sister-in-law's situation. This is important to understand. If she takes spousal benefits early (before her FRA of 66 and 10 months), they will be permanently reduced. However, survivor benefits are a completely separate calculation. When her husband passes, she can switch to survivor benefits, which would be 100% of what her husband was receiving IF she claims them at her full retirement age or later. If she claims survivor benefits before her FRA, they'll be reduced (approximately 4.75% per year early). Given her husband's prognosis, it might make financial sense to take the reduced spousal benefit now (about 35% of his PIA instead of 50% at FRA), then switch to the full survivor benefit later. But she should absolutely contact SSA for precise calculations specific to their situation.
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Caleb Bell
•Thank you for explaining this so clearly. So if I understand correctly, even if she takes reduced spousal benefits now, she could still get the full survivor benefit later as long as she waits until her FRA to claim it? That would be a huge relief for her to know.
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Rhett Bowman
my mom went thru something similar last year. she took her spousal at 64 and got like $200 less per month than if shed waited. but when dad passed in november she switched to survivor and got his full amount. the SSA people told her takin spousal early doesn't affect survivor amount later, just depends on when u claim the survivor part
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Caleb Bell
•I'm sorry about your dad, but thank you for sharing your mom's experience. That's exactly the kind of real-world example my sister-in-law needed to hear. Did your mom have any issues with the transition from spousal to survivor benefits when the time came?
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Abigail Patel
I went through this EXACT scenario last year. Here's what you need to know: the Social Security system is DESIGNED to make this confusing! Taking reduced spousal benefits at 65 instead of waiting until her FRA (66+10mo) would mean about 12% less - permanently. But here's the critical part - survivor benefits are a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CALCULATION and NOT affected by her previous spousal benefit decision. When her husband passes, she should immediately contact SSA (easier said than done) and apply for survivor benefits. If she waits until her FRA to claim the survivor benefit, she'll get 100% of his benefit. If she claims survivor before FRA, it's reduced. Based on my experience, if her own benefit is only $650, she should probably take the reduced spousal now to have income, knowing she'll switch to the higher survivor benefit later.
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Daniel White
•Totally agree with this. Why wait for the full spousal if she'll be switching to survivor benefits soon anyway? Take what she can get now, imo.
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Nolan Carter
I'm sorry about your brother-in-law's health condition. This is a complex situation that requires careful consideration. Here's what she should evaluate: 1. Current financial needs - Does she need income now or can she wait? 2. Life expectancy - If her husband unfortunately passes away before she reaches FRA, she'll want to consider the best strategy for survivor benefits. 3. Benefit calculations - At 65, her spousal benefit would be approximately 45.8% of her husband's PIA instead of the full 50% at her FRA. Importantly, her decision about spousal benefits won't affect her survivor benefits. When her husband passes, she'll be eligible for survivor benefits equal to 100% of what he was receiving (if taken at or after her FRA). I would recommend she schedule an appointment with SSA to get exact benefit amounts for all scenarios. Getting actual numbers will make the decision clearer.
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Caleb Bell
•Thank you for breaking this down so clearly. She does need the income now, so it sounds like taking the slightly reduced amount might make sense, especially if it won't affect her eventual survivor benefits. I'll help her schedule that SSA appointment to get the exact numbers.
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Natalia Stone
I've been trying to get through to SSA for weeks about a similar issue with my benefits. Kept getting busy signals or disconnected after waiting forever. Finally used a service called Claimyr that got me through to a live agent in under 25 minutes! You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Your sister-in-law should definitely talk directly with SSA about her specific situation since there are so many factors involved with spousal/survivor benefits.
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Rhett Bowman
•thanks for sharing this! my cousin has been trying to fix his disability payments for like a month and keeps getting nowhere on the phone
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Tasia Synder
Does anyone know if there's a way to calculate how much money she'd lose total by taking early spousal vs waiting? Like if she takes $200 less per month for 22 months (until her FRA) that's $4400 total. But then she'd be getting money during those 22 months she otherwise wouldn't get at all. So confusing trying to figure out the break-even point!
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Nolan Carter
•You're asking the right questions. The break-even calculation depends on how long she'll be receiving spousal benefits before switching to survivor benefits. If her husband has a terminal diagnosis with 1-2 years expected, she would likely never reach the break-even point by waiting until FRA for spousal benefits. For example, if her full spousal benefit at FRA would be $1,500, taking it at 65 might give her around $1,375 (rough estimate). So yes, she'd get about $125 less per month, but would collect for the additional time period. If she only collects spousal benefits for 2 years before switching to survivor benefits, waiting would almost certainly not be worth it financially. This is why getting the exact numbers from SSA is so important for her specific situation.
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Daniel White
why is social security so complicated?? seems like they make it confusing on purpose!! 😤
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Abigail Patel
•RIGHT?? It's a bureaucratic NIGHTMARE by design! The rules about spousal vs. survivor benefits alone are enough to make your head explode. And try getting a straight answer from anyone at the SSA office - it's like they're trained to give vague responses. I spent HOURS researching when my husband got sick just to understand the basics.
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Rhett Bowman
make sure she brings all the documents when she goes to ssa! they wanted my moms marriage certificate and it took forever to find it since they got married in the 70s!
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Caleb Bell
•Great point! I'll make sure she has her marriage certificate, birth certificate, and her husband's info all ready before the appointment. Don't want any delays with paperwork issues.
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Nolan Carter
One more important thing to consider: If her husband passes away while she's still working and earning income, the earnings test would apply to both spousal and survivor benefits if she's under FRA. For 2025, if she earns over $22,320 (estimated), benefits are reduced by $1 for every $2 earned above this limit. This won't affect her after she reaches FRA, but it's something to factor into her decision if she's still working. The reduction isn't permanent though - SSA recalculates and gives credit for these reductions once she reaches FRA.
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Caleb Bell
Thank you everyone for such helpful and thoughtful responses. I spoke with my sister-in-law and she's decided to schedule an appointment with SSA to get the exact benefit amounts for her situation. Given her husband's prognosis and her current financial needs, she's leaning toward taking the reduced spousal benefit now, especially understanding that it won't impact her survivor benefits later. I've helped her make a list of questions to ask and documents to bring. This community has been incredibly helpful during a really difficult time.
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