Social Security dilemma: Take my own benefit at 62 or survivor benefits after ex-spouse died?

I'm sorry for your loss. What you're describing is actually a common situation that many divorced spouses face. Since you were married for 20 years (over the 10-year minimum requirement), you do qualify for survivor benefits based on your ex-husband's record. In your situation, you have several options to consider: 1. Take YOUR reduced retirement benefit at 62 and then switch to full survivor benefits at your FRA (probably 66+) 2. Take reduced SURVIVOR benefits now and switch to your own retirement at your FRA or even delay until 70 for maximum growth 3. Wait until your FRA to file for either benefit without reduction The best strategy depends on the exact benefit amounts and your life expectancy. Since survivor benefits don't grow after your FRA (unlike retirement benefits which can grow until 70), many financial advisors suggest taking survivor benefits first if they're larger than your own reduced benefit.

my mom was in almost this exact situation!!! took survivors benefits at 60 (u can get those earlier than retirement btw) and then switched to her own at 68. worked out great for her. the SSA people told her exactly what to do when she finally got thru to them

As someone who recently went through this painful process after my spouse died, I can tell you that the Social Security rules are incredibly confusing when it comes to survivor benefits for ex-spouses. The key thing I learned is that the Government Pension Offset (GPO) will likely affect your survivor benefits because of your teacher's pension. The GPO could reduce your survivor benefit by 2/3 of your pension amount. So if your pension is $1,850/month, your survivor benefits could be reduced by about $1,233/month. You really need to speak with someone at SSA to get the exact calculations based on your work history and ex-husband's record. Keep trying to reach them or make an appointment at your local office.

Just take whatever gets you the most money right now. Why wait? The economy is terrible and inflation just keeps going up. If your ex was getting over $2900 a month and you're only getting $1275, seems like a no-brainer to me.

Have you tried using that Claimyr service to reach SSA? I was in a similar situation trying to sort out complicated survivor benefits and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. I found this service at claimyr.com that got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 15 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Not trying to push a service, but this is EXACTLY the kind of situation where you need to talk to an actual SSA representative who can look at your specific records and calculate your exact benefit amounts with all the relevant offsets and rules applied. My agent walked me through all my options with the real numbers.

I HATE how complicated they make this!!! Why can't Social Security just tell us clearly what to do?? I spent MONTHS trying to figure out my options when my ex died. The rules about switching between benefits make NO SENSE and even the SSA workers gave me conflicting info!!!!! Nobody seems to know if GPO applies to divorced spouses the same as current spouses and I got different answers from THREE DIFFERENT AGENTS.

One important factor you should consider is that if you take your own retirement benefit at 62, it will be permanently reduced to 70-75% of your full retirement age amount. While you can later switch to survivor benefits at your FRA, your own retirement benefit remains permanently reduced. Similarly, if you take survivor benefits early, they are permanently reduced. However, your own retirement benefit can still grow if you wait to claim it. Given that you have pension income, you might consider taking reduced survivor benefits now (even with GPO reduction) and letting your own benefit grow until 70, when it would be 132% of your FRA amount. This could be the optimal strategy if your own benefit at 70 would exceed your survivor benefit at FRA. I'd recommend making an appointment at your local SSA office for a full benefit calculation that factors in your pension and the GPO/WEP provisions.

wait i'm confused... does the 10 year marriage rule still apply if ur ex dies? i thought that was only for divorce benefits when they're still alive??

Update: I finally managed to speak with someone at SSA! You were all right about the GPO - it will reduce my survivor benefit by about $1,230 (2/3 of my pension). But even with that reduction, the survivor benefit would still be higher than my own reduced retirement benefit at 62. They recommended I take the reduced survivor benefit now and then switch to my own retirement benefit at 70, when it will have grown to its maximum amount. Apparently, this will give me the highest lifetime payout given my specific circumstances. Thank you all for your help and guidance through this confusing process!