Social Security survivor benefits confusion - will I get reduced benefits filing before FRA?

I'm so sorry for your loss. You're right to be concerned about this. Since you filed for your own benefits before your Full Retirement Age (FRA), you will receive a reduced survivor benefit. The reduction is based on your age when you begin receiving the survivor benefits, not when you filed for your own. You have options here: 1. You can continue receiving your own reduced benefit and then switch to the survivor benefit when you reach your FRA (which would give you 100% of what your husband was receiving) 2. Or if your husband's benefit is substantially higher than yours, you might consider switching to survivor benefits now (though reduced) and then switching back to your own benefit at age 70 when it reaches its maximum. SSA should be able to tell you which option gives you the highest lifetime benefit. Did they discuss these options when you called?

when my wife passed, they said i couldn't get her full bene if i took mine early. something about deemed filing. but you might beable to suspend yours and take survivor only??? the rules r confusing and the agents tell different things each time u call!!

The most important thing to understand is that survivor benefits and retirement benefits are treated differently. Even with the deemed filing rules that came into effect in 2015, you still have flexibility with survivor benefits. Since you've already filed for your own retirement benefits early, you have two options: 1) If your own benefit is less than the survivor benefit (even the reduced survivor benefit), you could switch to the survivor benefit now. It will be reduced because you're before FRA, but it might still be higher than your current benefit. 2) Or you could continue with your own reduced benefit now, then switch to the full survivor benefit when you reach your FRA of 67 and 2 months. To maximize lifetime benefits, you need to calculate which strategy yields more. This depends on your current benefit amount, the reduced survivor amount, and your life expectancy. SSA should be able to calculate these amounts for you.

I WENT THRU THIS LAST YEAR!!! The SSA is TERRIBLE about explaining this stuff clearly!!! My husband also died and I was getting my own benefit early. The reduction for survivor benefits if you take them before FRA is about 0.396% per month. So if you're about 3 years before FRA, that's like a 14.3% reduction approximately. BUT STILL TAKE IT if it's higher than your current benefit!!

I had a really tough time getting through to SSA when my spouse passed. I kept calling and getting disconnected after being on hold for an hour or more. Finally I found a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual human at SSA within 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU and it saved me so much frustration. I was able to actually discuss my options and get clear guidance on the survivor benefits.

The most important thing to understand is that SSA will actually pay you the HIGHER of either your own benefit or the survivor benefit you're eligible for. Based on what you shared, here's what I suspect will happen: 1. Since your husband's benefit at age 70 was likely much higher than your reduced age 64 benefit, you'll probably receive a survivor benefit. 2. Because you're taking survivor benefits before your FRA, there will be a reduction - roughly 0.4% for each month before your FRA. 3. This reduction only applies to the survivor benefit, not your own retirement benefit. 4. The good news: Even with the reduction, you'll likely still receive more than your current benefit. Make sure when you talk to SSA again, ask them to calculate both options and show you which one results in the higher monthly payment.

my neighbor went thru this and she said make sure to ask about the one-time death benefit too. its only $255 but its something. and they don't always tell u about it!

Just wanted to say I'm sorry for your loss. My mom went through this same situation last year. One thing she learned - if the SSA rep seems unsure about survivor benefit calculations, politely ask to speak with a technical expert. Some of the frontline reps aren't fully trained on all the survivor benefit nuances.

Thank you all so much for the helpful information. I'm going to try calling SSA again tomorrow and ask specifically about: 1. The exact amount I would receive if I switch to survivor benefits now vs. at my FRA 2. Whether I should continue with my own benefit or switch to survivor benefits 3. That $255 death benefit I hadn't heard about I'll ask to speak with a technical expert if the representative seems unsure. I'm feeling much more prepared now thanks to all your explanations. I'll update here once I get some answers from SSA.