When can I claim my ex-husband's Social Security survivor benefits at maximum amount - FRA or 66 and 6 months?

You can absolutely claim survivor benefits as a divorced widow since you were married over 10 years. For maximum survivor benefits, you need to wait until your Full Retirement Age (FRA), which depends on your birth year. If you were born in 1959, your FRA for survivor benefits would indeed be 66 and 6 months. Taking it earlier than that would result in a reduction. I've personally helped several clients navigate this exact situation when I worked at a financial planning firm.

My sister went through almost the exact same thing last year. Her ex died and she had to figure out all this confusing SS stuff. I think she ended up taking the benefits at 65 but I'm pretty sure she got less money because of it. Not sure if that helps but thought I'd mention it.

It's specifically at your FRA, which is 66 and 6 months if you were born in 1959. If you claim even one month earlier, you'll receive a reduced amount. Working doesn't affect survivor benefits once you reach FRA, but before that, the earnings limit would apply. One strategy to consider: you could claim your OWN retirement benefit at 70 (for maximum amount) if it would be higher than the survivor benefit, and take the survivor benefit at your FRA in the meantime. This is one of the few remaining opportunities to switch benefits.

I went thru something similar and spent WEEKS trying to get thru to SSA to figure it all out. Kept getting hung up on after waiting 2+ hours!! So frustrating!! Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in under 10 minutes. They have a video showing how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU - totally worth it to get my questions answered by an actual person at SSA who confirmed my FRA for survivor benefits.

Be careful about timing your retirement based only on survivor benefits. Your earnings in your final working years could actually increase your own retirement benefit calculation. ALSO the earnings test doesn't apply to survivor benefits once you reach FRA, so you could potentially collect full survivor benefits while still working, then switch to your own benefit at 70 if it's higher! The SSA doesn't always explain all these options!!!

My frend at church got widows benifits but she had to bring in her marrige certificate and death certificate and everything. Make sure you have all that stuff ready when you go in. The SSA people lose everything if u mail it!!!

I turned 66 last month (my FRA) and just got approved for my survivors benefit from my ex-husband. We were married 22 years and he died in 2020. The process was pretty straightforward but took almost 3 months from application to first payment. Just giving you a timeline of what to expect.

Quick follow-up since there seems to be some confusion in the thread: survivor benefits reach their maximum at your FRA (66 and 6 months for someone born in 1959), unlike retirement benefits which max out at 70. The survivor benefit will be 100% of what your ex-husband was receiving or would have received at his FRA. And yes, you can absolutely switch between benefits - take survivors at your FRA, continue working (with no earnings limit penalty), then switch to your own retirement at 70 if it would be higher. This strategy could maximize your lifetime benefits.

does anyone know if the 10 year marriage rule is exactly 10 years or can it be like 9 years and 10 months? asking for my friend who's in a similar situation