Survivor benefit COLA calculations when higher-earning spouse dies shortly after claiming Social Security at FRA

Your wife would receive the higher of her own benefit OR your benefit with COLAs applied. Social Security does continue to apply annual cost-of-living adjustments to a deceased person's benefit amount for survivor benefit purposes. If you pass away shortly after claiming at your FRA, and your wife waits until her FRA to claim survivor benefits, she would receive 100% of your benefit amount PLUS all the COLAs that would have been applied during those years. So in your example, assuming 2.3% annual COLA, she would get closer to $5,400/month rather than the $4,100 with no adjustments. This is because Social Security treats the benefit as if you were still alive and receiving those increases. The survivor benefit calculation starts with your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) at death, then applies all intervening COLAs up to the point when the survivor actually claims.

I went through almost EXACTLY this scenario with my parents! My mother was 14 years younger than my father, and he passed away only 7 months after starting his SS benefits at FRA. What actually happened was DIFFERENT than what we expected. When my mother eventually claimed survivor benefits at her FRA, she got my father's original benefit amount PLUS all the COLAs that would have been applied during those years. It was very confusing because some of the SS publications aren't clear about this. But I can confirm 100% that survivor benefits DO include the COLA increases that would have happened between death and when the survivor claims. The SSA representative explained to us that they calculate it as if the deceased person was still alive and receiving those increases all along.

u sure ur getting things right? my cousin told me survivor benefits are froze at death no increases after that. thats why its better to wait til 70 to get more for spouse later

Have you tried calling SSA directly to get an official answer? I spent 3 days trying to get through to them last month about my own survivor benefit question (similar to yours actually) and kept getting disconnected or waiting for hours. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) and got through to an agent in about 15 minutes. It was worth it for me because I needed an answer for financial planning. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent confirmed that survivors DO get COLA increases applied to the deceased's benefit amount for the years between death and claiming. They were very clear about this.

JUST SO U KNO the rules for social security change all the time!!!! what works now might not be same when ur wife claims in 12 years!!!! the govt is ALWAYS looking to cut benefits and change rules. my brother in law got caught by this when they changed the file and suspend thing a few years ago. lost thousands!!!

Let me clarify this question with more technical details: When a worker passes away, their Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) serves as the basis for survivor benefits. For survivors claiming at their FRA, they receive 100% of this amount. Importantly, this amount continues to receive all Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) between the time of death and the time the survivor actually claims benefits. This is established in Section 215(i) of the Social Security Act. The Social Security Administration maintains what they call a "ghost account" that continues to apply COLAs to the deceased worker's benefit amount for the purpose of calculating survivor benefits. In your specific scenario, your wife would receive 100% of your $4,100 benefit PLUS approximately 12 years of COLA adjustments. At 2.3% annual inflation, this would indeed be closer to $5,400 when she claims. One additional note: if you have a minor child when you reach FRA, they can receive benefits on your record while you're alive, and this doesn't impact your decision about when to take your own benefits.

i think its great ur planning ahead! my husband never did any planing and when he died suddenly i had no idea what i was entitled too. the SSA people weren't very helpful either just gave me confusing answers

Thank you all for the helpful responses! Based on what everyone has shared, it sounds like my wife would indeed receive the higher amount with all COLAs applied, which is a huge relief for our long-term planning. Just to make sure I understand correctly: The base amount is my FRA benefit at death ($4,100), and then all the yearly COLAs between my death and when she claims at her FRA would be added to that amount. This makes a difference of over $1,300 monthly in our case, which is significant for her financial security. I appreciate everyone sharing their knowledge and personal experiences!