Survivor benefits at 66 vs FRA - timing with $85k part-time income

At 66, you're very close to your FRA for survivor benefits (which is probably 66 and 4 months if you were born in 1959). The main considerations are: 1) If you take survivors before FRA, you'll face the earnings test with your $85k income, meaning they'll withhold $1 in benefits for every $3 you earn above the annual limit (about $59,520 in 2025). 2) Waiting until FRA means no earnings test applies, so you'd get your full survivor benefit regardless of your work income. 3) Unlike retirement benefits, survivor benefits don't increase after FRA, so there's no advantage to waiting beyond your FRA. 4) Taking survivor benefits has NO impact on your own retirement benefit at 70 - you can switch from one to the other.

my husband died 3 years ago and i had same question! i was still working and making good $. i waited till my FRA for survivors (66 + 2mo for me) because the SS lady told me they would take back almost all of it with the earnings test thing. made no sense to file early just to have most of it withheld!!

Here's what I'd consider in your situation: 1. Since you're making $85k, starting survivor benefits in January 2025 before your FRA means a significant portion would be withheld due to the earnings test. For 2025, approximately $8,500 of your benefits would be withheld (($85,000 - $59,520) ÷ 3). 2. Any benefits withheld before FRA do get credited back gradually after you reach FRA, but it's administratively cleaner to just wait if you don't need the money. 3. Survivor benefits reach their maximum at your FRA - they don't grow after that like retirement benefits do. 4. Your strategy to take survivor benefits at FRA and then switch to your own retirement at 70 is optimal if your own benefit at 70 will be higher than your survivor benefit. The only real advantage to filing in January would be getting some reduced payments before your FRA, but with your earnings, much of that would be temporarily withheld anyway.

I was in this exact situation last year! I was making about $75k and turned 66 in March. SSA is IMPOSSIBLE to reach by phone - I spent WEEKS trying to get through to ask these same questions. I finally used Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to a rep in minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU showing how it works. The agent I spoke with confirmed that with my income level, waiting until FRA was definitely the smarter move because of the earnings test. Made the whole process so much easier after weeks of frustration.

wait why are you even bothering with surivivors benefit if ur making 85k??? just wait till 70 and take ur own bigger benefit. thats what my financial advisor told me to do

The SSA representatives gave me COMPLETELY different advice when I asked this exact question last month!!! One told me I should take survivors ASAP and another said wait!! How are we supposed to know what's right when they can't even agree??? It's INFURIATING trying to plan retirement when the rules are so confusing and the people who WORK THERE don't understand them!!

I think everyone's overthinking this. If you don't need the money now anyway (which you said), just wait till FRA. Makes the math simpler and you don't have to worry about earnings test stuff. That's what I did.

One more consideration: If you're planning to stop working before your FRA, you might recalculate. Let's say you decide to stop working in August 2025, a few months after turning 66. You could apply for survivor benefits then, and the earnings test would only apply to the months in 2025 before you reach FRA. The SSA would use a monthly earnings test calculation rather than annual for the year you retire mid-year. This might make taking survivors before your exact FRA worthwhile, depending on exactly when you stop working.

Thank you all for such thoughtful responses! Based on everyone's advice, I think waiting until FRA makes the most sense in my situation since I don't need the extra income now and it avoids the complications with the earnings test. I'll use my SSA appointment to confirm the exact date of my FRA for survivor benefits and get more details about making the switch to my own benefits at 70. Really appreciate all the insights!