Widow benefits at 62 with high income - will SS earnings test affect my deceased husband's higher benefit?

As a widow, you have options, but your current income will definitely affect things. Yes, the earnings test DOES apply to widow benefits if you're under your full retirement age. For 2025, if you earn over about $23,000 (the exact limit changes yearly), they'll withhold $1 in benefits for every $2 you earn above that limit. The good news: you would be eligible for your husband's age 69 amount (including all his delayed retirement credits), not just his FRA amount. That's probably significantly higher! I'd recommend waiting until at least your FRA (67) to claim widow benefits so you avoid the earnings test completely. At that point, you can collect 100% of what your husband was entitled to at his death.

I'm so sorry for your loss. My husband died 3 years ago when I was 61 and I've learned A LOT about survivor benefits since then. YES your income matters A LOT right now!!! With you making $53k, they will withhold most if not all of your survivor benefit due to the earnings test. It's really frustrating!!! Here's what worked for me: I waited until my FRA (which was 66 and 6 months) to claim the survivor benefit so I wouldn't lose anything to the earnings test. THEN I'm going to switch to my own retirement benefit at 70 since mine will be higher with the delayed credits. Does your own benefit at 70 possibly exceed your husband's benefit? If so, you might want to consider this strategy too.

You've gotten some good advice, but let me clarify a few things about widow benefits: 1. Yes, you would receive what your husband would have gotten at 69 (including all delayed retirement credits he earned), not just his FRA amount. 2. As a widow claiming before your FRA, you'll face both the earnings test AND a reduction for claiming early. At 62, widow benefits are reduced to about 71.5% of what you'd get at your FRA. 3. Your best strategy depends on the relative amounts of your benefit vs. your husband's. You can contact SSA directly to get exact benefit estimates based on your specific situation. 4. With your current income, waiting until at least your FRA (67) makes the most sense to avoid the earnings test completely. One more thing - you can make an appointment at your local SSA office to discuss survivor benefits. They can pull up both your records and give you precise figures for different claiming ages.

So sorry about your husband. I went through something similar recently and had a terrible time getting through to Social Security to sort everything out. After trying for weeks with endless busy signals and disconnects, I found this service called Claimyr that got me through to an agent in about 20 minutes. You might want to check them out at claimyr.com - they have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU After I finally spoke with someone, they explained that I needed to bring my husband's death certificate, our marriage certificate, his Social Security number, and proof of my age. The agent was really helpful in calculating exactly what my benefit options were. Definitely worth getting accurate information directly from SSA for your specific situation.

your husband died at 69 so you get what he WOULD have gotten at 69 which is a lot more than at 66!! but ya at 62 you will lose alot from working thats why i stopped working when i claimed widows benefits but you make good money so probly better for u to keep working and wait

wait til 67!! the earnings test is SO ANNOYING and they take back so much $$ if ur still working. my sister tried taking SS at 63 working part time and it was a MESS with overpayments and everything

Is anyone else annoyed that SS doesn't just TELL people this stuff clearly?? They make everything so complicated! Why should we have to figure out all these weird rules ourselves?? My dad worked for 45 years and when he died my mom had to practically become a financial advisor just to understand her options. The whole system is ridiculous!!

After reading all the responses, I think your best strategy would be: 1. Wait until your FRA (67) to claim widow benefits based on your husband's record including his delayed retirement credits. This avoids the earnings test completely. 2. Contact SSA to get exact benefit amounts. To access information about your husband's benefit, you'll need his SSN, your marriage certificate, and his death certificate. 3. If desired, you could even wait until 70 to claim if your own benefit would be higher (though from what you've said, your husband's benefit with his delayed credits will likely be higher). The most important thing is to get actual numbers from SSA so you can make an informed decision. Widow benefits have very specific rules that differ from regular retirement benefits.