Social Security survivor benefits prorating between age percentages - how does SSA calculate at 66y6mo?

Yes, survivor benefits ARE prorated by month. SSA doesn't make you wait until the next age milestone to get the higher percentage. They calculate it down to the month. So at 66y6mo, you'd get approximately 93.9% (halfway between 91.86% and 95.93%). Each month adds a small percentage. This is different from retirement benefits which are prorated by month but follow different percentage increases.

when my dad died my mom got survivors and they did the month thing exactly like you're asking about. she waited till 65 and 9 months to claim and got more than the 65 amount but less than 66. the ssa guy explained it all to her but i forget exactly how much extra each month was worth.

The exact formula SSA uses for survivor benefits is that each month beyond full retirement age adds approximately 0.34% to your benefit percentage. At 66y6mo, you'd get the age 66 percentage (95.93%) plus an additional 6 months × 0.34% = 2.04%, so approximately 97.97% of your husband's benefit. However, I should note that Full Retirement Age (FRA) for survivor benefits depends on your birth year. If you were born between 1945-1956, FRA for survivors is 66. If born 1957-1961, it increases gradually until it reaches 67 for those born in 1962 or later. At FRA, you get 100% of your deceased spouse's benefit.

Yes, that changes things. For someone born in 1958, your FRA for survivor benefits is indeed 66 and 8 months. The percentages you quoted (91.86% at 65 and 95.93% at 66) are correct for those specific ages, but you'd need to understand that you'd get 100% at your FRA of 66 and 8 months. For each month you claim before your FRA, your benefit is reduced by a certain percentage. For the first 36 months before FRA, the reduction is 0.4375% per month. For months beyond 36, it's 0.3125% per month. So at 66 and 6 months, you'd be 2 months before your FRA, meaning a reduction of 2 × 0.4375% = 0.875%, giving you approximately 99.125% of your husband's benefit.

my situation was differnt but same question basically. ssi office told me its ALL based on your birth date and every month matters. theres no "rounding" its all exact calculations.

I've been trying to get this EXACT question answered for weeks!!! Called SSA five times and either got disconnected or was on hold FOREVER. Their website is useless for specific questions like this. One agent told me one thing, another told me something else. SO FRUSTRATING!!! Did you manage to talk to anyone?

To give you the exact technical answer: The reduction for survivor benefits is actually calculated using a formula based on the number of months before your Full Retirement Age. For survivors born in 1958 (FRA 66 and 8 months): - For the first 36 months before FRA: 0.4375% reduction per month - For months beyond 36 before FRA: 0.3125% reduction per month So claiming at 66 years and 6 months would mean you're 2 months early, resulting in a 0.875% reduction from the full benefit amount (100% - 0.875% = 99.125%). This is more favorable than the percentages you were initially looking at because those might have been based on a different birth year/FRA.

just make sure ur looking at SURVIVORS chart not RETIREMENT chart those are totally different!!! my aunt made that mistake and was surprised when she went in

One more thing to consider - if you're eligible for both your own retirement benefit AND survivor benefits, you have additional options. You could take your own reduced retirement benefit at 62 and then switch to the full survivor benefit at your survivor FRA (66+8mo). Or take the reduced survivor benefit early and switch to your own benefit at 70 if it would be higher with delayed retirement credits. This is one of the few remaining ways to use a "claim now, claim more later" strategy since the 2015 law changes.

I went through this exact calculation with my mom when my dad passed in 2019. She was born in 1957 so her survivor FRA was 66 and 6 months. What really helped us was creating a spreadsheet to compare the monthly benefit amounts at different claiming ages. Don't forget that once you start receiving survivor benefits, you'll also get annual cost-of-living adjustments (COLA), so starting a bit earlier might make sense depending on your financial situation. Also, survivor benefits aren't subject to the earnings test once you reach your survivor FRA, which is different from regular retirement benefits. The SSA representatives can run benefit estimates for you at different ages if you call with your husband's Social Security number and death certificate information.

I work at a local SSA field office and deal with survivor benefit calculations daily. Yes, SSA absolutely prorates survivor benefits by month - there's no waiting until the next age milestone. However, I want to clarify something important that might be confusing you. The percentages you mentioned (91.86% at 65, 95.93% at 66) seem to be from a general chart, but your actual calculation depends on YOUR specific Full Retirement Age for survivor benefits based on your birth year. If you were born in 1958, your survivor FRA is 66 and 8 months, which means at 66 and 6 months you'd actually get about 99.125% of your husband's benefit (only a 0.875% reduction for being 2 months early). I'd recommend calling SSA with your husband's information to get your exact benefit estimate at different claiming ages - they can run scenarios for you. The difference between using the wrong FRA assumption versus your actual FRA could be significant over time.