Social Security survivor benefits at FRA - applying in December for January eligibility?
I've got a complicated survivor benefit timing question. My husband passed away 3 years ago, and I'm planning to retire from my job next September (2025). According to my MySocialSecurity account, my own full retirement age is 67 years 2 months (November 2025), but my survivor FRA is 66 years 8 months (May 2025). I want to make sure I get 100% of my survivor benefits without any reduction. Should I submit my application in April 2025 for a May start date (first check in June)? Or do I need to wait until after I've completed the entire month of May to be considered at full survivor FRA? I'm confused about whether I need to be 66 and 8 months for the entire month to qualify for the unreduced survivor benefit. I don't want to leave money on the table by applying too early, but also don't want to miss out on a month of benefits by applying too late. Has anyone navigated this specific survivor FRA timing issue?
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Luca Romano
You can apply up to 4 months before you want your benefits to start. For survivor benefits at FRA, you'd want to apply in January or February 2025 for a May 2025 start date (with first payment in June). The key is that you need to have REACHED your survivor FRA of 66+8 months, not completed the entire month at that age. SSA considers you to reach an age on the day before your birthday. So if your birth date makes your survivor FRA fall on May 15, 2025, you're considered to have reached that FRA on May 14, 2025. You'd be eligible for unreduced survivor benefits for the entire month of May, with first payment arriving in June. Bottom line: Apply 2-3 months before your survivor FRA month for a smooth process.
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Zara Rashid
•Thank you for explaining this! So I don't have to wait until the end of May to be considered at my survivor FRA? That's a relief. I was worried I'd have to wait until June to apply and lose a month of benefits. I'll mark my calendar to submit my application in February 2025.
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Nia Jackson
r u sure about this?? my cousin applied for survivors ONE DAY early and got reduced benefits FOREVER!!! the ssa is VERY strict about this stuff and the computer systems automatically calculate reductions. better safe than sorry!!!!
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Luca Romano
•That's not accurate. SSA doesn't permanently reduce benefits if you apply early but specify a later start date. Your cousin likely either actually started benefits before reaching FRA or there was a miscommunication/error that should have been appealed. The application date and benefit start date are two different things in the SSA system.
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NebulaNova
Just adding that you should definitely consider whether taking survivor benefits at your survivor FRA and then switching to your own retirement benefits at 70 might maximize your lifetime benefits. If your own benefit would be higher than the survivor benefit (especially after 4 years of delayed retirement credits), this strategy could be worth exploring. I was in a similar situation last year. I took my survivor benefits at my survivor FRA (66+4 months) and am waiting until 70 for my own retirement benefits, which will be about 32% higher than if I took them at my FRA. The Social Security rep confirmed this was the optimal strategy in my case.
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Zara Rashid
•That's a really good point I hadn't considered. My survivor benefit is about $2,675/month at FRA, and my own retirement benefit would be around $2,410 at my regular FRA. I need to calculate what my own benefit would be at 70. Is there a quick way to figure out the delayed retirement credits?
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NebulaNova
•For each year you delay past your FRA, you get an 8% increase in your retirement benefit. So if your FRA is 67+2 months and you wait until 70, that's roughly 2 years and 10 months of delay, which would give you approximately 22.6% more. So your $2,410 would become about $2,955 at age 70. That would be higher than your survivor benefit of $2,675, making this strategy worth considering.
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Mateo Hernandez
my husband passed 5 years ago and i remember the whole process was confusing. i think i waited too long to claim and missed out on benefits. definitely apply a few months before you want benefits to start. good luck!
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Aisha Khan
I went through this last year. Apply 3 months before your survivor FRA month for a May 2025 start date. But be warned - getting through to SSA by phone to complete the survivor application is a nightmare! I spent 2 weeks trying, getting disconnected or waiting 3+ hours. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an agent in under 10 minutes. You can see how it works in their video: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU It saved me so much frustration, especially since the survivor application requires talking to a live agent - you can't complete it all online.
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Zara Rashid
•I've been worried about the phone application process. I tried calling SSA last month about another question and gave up after being on hold for over an hour. Thanks for the tip about Claimyr - I'll check out that video link. Did you find the actual application process complicated once you got through to someone?
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Aisha Khan
•The application itself wasn't too bad once I got through. The agent walked me through everything step by step. Just make sure you have your late husband's death certificate, both your Social Security numbers, marriage certificate, and your bank account info for direct deposit. The call took about 45 minutes. The hardest part was definitely getting through to a person in the first place.
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Ethan Taylor
I applied for survivor benefits last year and the SSA rep told me I should apply the month BEFORE I want benefits to begin. But I'm not 100% sure that's right because different people seem to get different advice?? Does anyone know for certain?
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Luca Romano
•SSA's official guidance is that you can apply up to 4 months before you want benefits to begin. Applying the month before is cutting it close, especially given processing times these days. The important thing is that on your application, you clearly specify the month you want benefits to begin (May 2025 in the original poster's case).
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Yuki Ito
Just be careful about any employment income if you're retiring in September 2025 but taking survivor benefits in May 2025. If you're under your FRA for retirement benefits, the earnings test still applies to survivor benefits. For 2025, if you earn more than $22,750 (estimated based on 2024's limit with COLA), they'll withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 above that limit. This caught me off guard when I started survivor benefits while still working part-time. I had a significant benefit reduction that I wasn't expecting. You might want to calculate your expected 2025 earnings from January-December to see if this will affect you.
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Zara Rashid
•Oh no, I hadn't thought about the earnings test! I'll be making about $95,000 in 2025 up until my retirement in September. Does this mean I shouldn't take survivor benefits until after I stop working? This is getting so complicated...
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Yuki Ito
•With $95,000 in earnings, you would definitely be affected by the earnings test. You'd be about $72,250 over the limit, which means approximately $36,125 in benefits would be withheld. If your monthly survivor benefit is $2,675, that would be about 13.5 months of benefits withheld. It might make more sense to wait until your employment ends in September 2025 before starting survivor benefits. The good news is that once you reach your regular FRA, they'll adjust your benefit amount to account for months when benefits were withheld, so you eventually get the money back in the form of a higher monthly benefit.
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Zara Rashid
Thank you all for the helpful advice! Based on what everyone has shared, I think I need to reconsider my strategy. Since I'll still be working until September 2025 and earning well above the limit, it probably makes sense to wait until after I retire to apply for survivor benefits. I'll still be under my regular FRA but at least I won't have the earnings test reducing my benefits. Then I can consider switching to my own retirement benefit at 70 if the delayed credits make it higher than my survivor benefit. Is there anything else I should consider in this situation?
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Luca Romano
•That sounds like a solid plan given your circumstances. One more consideration: the month you stop working in September 2025 might still count as a high-earnings month depending on when in the month you finish. Some people find it cleanest to start benefits the month after they completely stop working. Also, when you do apply, you'll need to complete an earnings estimate form for 2025 so SSA can calculate any necessary withholding. Be as accurate as possible, as significant differences between your estimate and actual earnings can result in overpayments or underpayments that need to be reconciled later.
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Nia Jackson
this whole system is rigged to CONFUSE US!! my neighbor got diff advice from EVERY ssa rep she talked to!! good luck figuring it out!!
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