Social Security survivor benefits question - will I get 82.5% of husband's PIA or his reduced benefit if I claim at 62?
Hello everyone, I'm struggling with a difficult decision. My husband (69 now) claimed his Social Security retirement at 62 due to some serious health issues that have been progressing. I'm turning 62 next month and facing a choice - continue working or start claiming my own benefits so we can enjoy whatever time we have left together. We definitely need the income one way or another. My main concern is about survivor benefits if he passes before me. If I claim at 62 (taking the 30% reduction) and later he pre-deceases me, would I receive 82.5% of his Primary Insurance Amount as my survivor benefit? Or would I just get whatever reduced benefit he's currently receiving? I visited our local Social Security office last week but got conflicting information from two different representatives. At 82.5% of his full PIA long-term, I'd probably go ahead and claim early. But if I'd only get his current reduced amount, I might keep working instead. Any insights from those who understand these survivor benefit rules would be so appreciated. This decision feels overwhelming right now.
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CosmicCowboy
As a survivor, you would receive the higher of: 1) your own benefit, or 2) a survivor benefit. The survivor benefit would be the higher of either what your husband was actually receiving OR 82.5% of his PIA if you claim survivor benefits at age 62. So if your husband claimed at 62 and was receiving about 70% of his PIA, and you claim survivors at 62 (getting 82.5% of his PIA), you would receive the 82.5% amount, not his reduced benefit. This is one of the most confusing aspects of Social Security that trip people up. Your own retirement claiming decision and your future survivor benefit are separate calculations.
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Paolo Longo
•Thank you so much for explaining this! So to make sure I understand correctly - if I claim my own benefits at 62 now, and then later need to switch to survivor benefits when he passes, I'd get 82.5% of his PIA rather than his reduced amount? That makes a big difference in my planning.
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Amina Diallo
my aunt just went thru this exact thing!! she got the higher amount when my uncle died not what he was getting. they told her it was cause of some rule about the "maximum family benefit" or something. but she definitely got more than what he was getting when he was alive. hope that helps!!
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Oliver Schulz
•The maximum family benefit (MFB) is something different - it limits the total benefits payable to a family on one worker's record. What you're describing is just the standard survivor benefit calculation, which can indeed result in a widow(er) receiving more than the deceased spouse was receiving.
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Natasha Orlova
I was in a similar situation 3 years ago. My husband had claimed early due to health issues. I was TERRIFIED about making the wrong decision. When he passed, I was 63. Social Security actually gave me the full 100% of what his benefit would've been at FRA, not the reduced amount he was getting. I think it's because he passed away before reaching his full retirement age????? The rules are SO COMPLICATED. But I definitely got more than what he was receiving when alive.
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Javier Cruz
•The rules ARE confusing! There's a special rule that if someone claims early and then dies before reaching full retirement age, the survivor can get up to 100% of the PIA (depending on the survivor's age when claiming). But if the worker dies after reaching FRA, then different calculations apply. At least that's what I think I understand from reading about this stuff for hours!
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Emma Wilson
I struggled with this exact situation. After my husband passed, I couldn't get through to SSA on the phone for weeks - it was beyond frustrating during an already difficult time. I eventually used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a representative - they have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU When I finally spoke with SSA, they confirmed I would receive 82.5% of my husband's PIA as my survivor benefit (since I was claiming at 62), NOT his reduced benefit amount. This was significantly higher than what he had been receiving after claiming at 62. The representative explained this is because survivor benefits have different reduction factors than retirement benefits.
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Paolo Longo
•Thank you for sharing your experience. I'm sorry for your loss but grateful for the information. I hadn't heard of that service before, but getting accurate information directly from SSA is crucial for this decision. I'll definitely check it out if I have trouble reaching someone.
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Malik Thomas
DONT TRUST WHAT THE SSA TELLS YOU! I got 3 different answers from 3 different people when I called about survivor benefits!!! The rules are complicated and even THEY dont understand them half the time. My advice is document EVERYTHING, record names of who you talk to, and get everything in WRITING!!!
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Natasha Orlova
•This is so true! When my husband passed, one rep told me I couldn't claim survivors until I was 66, another said I could claim immediately but would be permanently reduced. I ended up bringing printouts FROM THEIR OWN WEBSITE to my appointment to prove what I was eligible for!
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Oliver Schulz
Let me clarify the precise rules here, as there's a lot of confusion: 1. If you claim your own retirement benefit at 62, you'll receive approximately 70% of your PIA. 2. If your husband predeceases you, and you claim survivor benefits at age 62, you'll receive approximately 71.5-82.5% of his PIA (the exact percentage depends on your year of birth and FRA). 3. Your survivor benefit has nothing to do with what your husband was actually receiving - it's based on his PIA and your age when you claim survivors. 4. You will automatically receive the higher of your own benefit or the survivor benefit. Additional note: If your husband dies before reaching his FRA, his PIA might be recalculated using a special "death computation" method which could make his PIA higher than it would otherwise be, potentially increasing your survivor benefit.
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Paolo Longo
•This is incredibly helpful! I had no idea about the "death computation" method. Based on all this information, I think I'm leaning toward claiming at 62 since the survivor calculation seems more favorable than I initially thought. Would that special calculation apply even though he's already past his FRA (he's 69 now)?
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Javier Cruz
have u considered filing a restricted application? my neighbor did this where she only took spousal benefits for a while then switched to her own higher benefit later. something about being born before 1954?
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Oliver Schulz
•Unfortunately, that strategy (restricted application) is only available to people born on or before January 1, 1954. Based on the original poster mentioning she's turning 62 now, she wouldn't qualify for this option. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 phased out this strategy for younger beneficiaries.
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CosmicCowboy
One additional consideration: If you claim your own benefits now at 62, and then later switch to survivor benefits, your survivor benefit will be reduced because you're claiming survivors before your FRA. However, the reduction for survivor benefits is different (and generally more favorable) than the reduction for regular retirement benefits. At age 62, retirement benefits are reduced by about 30%, but survivor benefits are only reduced by about 17.5% (to 82.5% of PIA). This is why many financial planners suggest that if you have both options, it's often better to take the reduced benefit first and save the higher benefit for later.
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Paolo Longo
•That makes a lot of sense. So in our case, since my husband's benefit is significantly higher than mine would be, it might make sense for me to claim my own reduced retirement benefit now, and then switch to the survivor benefit (at 82.5% of his PIA) when the time comes. That strategy never occurred to me before.
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Amina Diallo
quick question - does anyone know if the 82.5% gets any cost of living adjustments? or is it frozen at that amount forever?
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CosmicCowboy
•Yes, survivor benefits do receive the annual Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs), just like all other Social Security benefits. So the 82.5% of PIA would increase with inflation over time.
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