Social Security survivor benefits confusion - did I calculate my widow(er) benefits correctly?

Actually, in your third scenario, you've made a calculation error. If your wife passes away now while you're 64, the reduction for taking survivor benefits early would be more significant than you estimated. The exact percentage varies based on months before FRA, but it's roughly a 28.5% reduction if taken 36 months early. Also, you're absolutely correct about taking survivor benefits ASAP in scenario 3 if you'll switch to your own higher retirement benefit at 70. This is one of the few remaining "claim now, claim more later" strategies still available after the 2015 law changes. Your overall approach is sound - maximize the higher earner's benefit by waiting until 70, which optimizes the survivor benefit for whichever spouse outlives the other.

My husband died 2 years ago and I had to figure all this out. The SSA rep told me I could take survivor benefits at 60!!! but they would be reduced alot. I waited til 62 instad. Now Im getting about 78% of what my husband got. It is so hard to know what to do! Don't forget you get a one-time death benefit of $255 too its not much

You're thinking about this the right way, and the "take survivor benefits early, then switch to your own higher benefit at 70" strategy is smart. I used it myself. But I think you're forgetting about the earnings test if either of you are still working. If you earn above the annual limit ($20,160 in 2024), they withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that limit until you reach FRA. That could affect when you want to claim survivor benefits.

I went through this EXACT thing when planning with my spouse. Called SSA like 12 times and got 8 different answers!!!! SO FRUSTRATING!!! Your strategy sounds solid but remember that survivor benefits and retirement benefits have DIFFERENT FRAs sometimes depending on your birth year. And they calculate the reduction differently too! Are you SURE about your FRA benefit numbers? Did you get those from your SSA statement? I thought mine was one amount but when I finally got through to someone competent they said it was totally different because of something called "indexing factors" that changed how my past earnings were counted.

Something no one mentioned yet - if your wife claims survivor benefits after you pass, she'd get the HIGHER of either the actual benefit you were receiving OR what you would have received at your FRA (even if you hadn't claimed yet). So if you die before claiming, she'd get your FRA amount, not your age-70 amount.

I've been through this process and can tell you reaching a knowledgeable SSA representative is almost impossible these days with their phone lines. You can spend hours on hold only to be disconnected or speak with someone who gives incorrect information. I recently discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to a Social Security agent in under 20 minutes after I had spent days trying on my own. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. It was truly helpful for getting my survivor benefit questions answered by an actual SSA representative without the endless waiting. Regarding your calculations, I think your understanding is generally correct, but the actual percentages can vary based on how many months before FRA you claim. It's not always a straight percentage.

Your benefit calculations seem close but remember these are just estimates. The actual survivor benefit can be affected by: 1. Your actual earnings record when you die (not estimates) 2. COLA adjustments between now and when benefits are claimed 3. Whether the deceased was receiving reduced or increased benefits 4. The survivor's age when applying I'd suggest creating an account at ssa.gov (if you haven't already) and using their calculators. For precise calculations on survivor benefits, unfortunately you usually need to speak with an SSA representative directly since their online tools don't handle all survivor scenarios well.

ALSO!!! I forgot to say - if either of you has ANY government pension from work not covered by Social Security (like some teachers, state employees, etc.) then the Government Pension Offset (GPO) or Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) could DRASTICALLY change all your calculations!!! My sister lost like 2/3 of her expected survivor benefits because of GPO! It's CRIMINAL how they don't make this clear!!!

One more important thing - in your Scenario 3, if your wife passes away while you're both 64, and you want to take survivor benefits immediately, remember you'd need to apply for those benefits. They're not automatic. And if you're still working, the earnings test would apply until you reach FRA as someone else mentioned. Also be aware that taking survivor benefits doesn't affect your own retirement benefit growth. Your retirement benefit would still grow with delayed retirement credits until 70, regardless of whether you're receiving survivor benefits.