Widow's benefits at FRA confusion - will starting in January vs February affect my survivor benefit amount?

The SSA rep is WRONG! If your FRA is February and you start benefits in January, your payment will be reduced by a fraction of a percent. For survivor benefits, each month before FRA reduces your benefit by about 0.4% (depending on your exact birth year). I insisted on waiting until exactly my FRA and it was worth it. You're right to be concerned - call back and DEMAND to speak with a supervisor because the first rep clearly doesn't understand the difference between earnings test and reduction for filing before FRA.

omg i had the EXACT same prob when i applied last yr!! the phone person kept saying "oh it doesnt matter, few dollars diff" but i waited til my exact FRA date. no regrets. stand your ground!! the childrens benefits your kids got before has NOTHING to do with your widow benefits now, totally separate.

I can help clarify this situation: 1. You are correct - starting survivor benefits in January when your FRA is February WILL reduce your benefit amount. Even one month early creates a small reduction from the full 100% of your late husband's PIA. 2. The fact that your children received benefits years ago has absolutely no impact on your widow's benefits now. Those were children's survivor benefits, completely separate from widow's benefits. 3. No, you haven't filed early in the past. Someone likely applied for the children, but that wasn't an application for your own benefits. Contact SSA again and specifically request that your application be processed with a February 1st start date. You may need to be persistent and ask for a supervisor if the representative isn't understanding your request.

If you want my two cents, I went through something similar when I applied for my retirement benefits (not survivors, but similar issue). The difference between taking it one month early was only about $27 per month for me. But hey, that adds up over time! You're entitled to wait until your exact FRA, and the rep should respect that choice.

After spending HOURS trying to reach someone at Social Security about my survivor benefits last year, I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) to get through to an agent right away instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I got through to a knowledgeable person, I was able to fix the start date they had entered incorrectly for my benefits. Sometimes you just need to talk to the right person at SSA who actually understands the rules.

Social Security Specialist here. You are absolutely correct to wait until your Full Retirement Age for survivor benefits. Here's exactly what's happening: 1. For survivors born in 1958, FRA is 66 and 4 months. One month early (January vs. February) would reduce your benefit by approximately 0.396%. 2. While this might seem small, it's a permanent reduction that affects every payment for the rest of your life. 3. The children's benefits paid years ago have zero impact on your widow's benefits now. Those were based on your children's entitlement as survivors, not yours. 4. The earnings test is completely separate from the reduction for claiming early. The representative confused two different concepts. When you call back, specifically request that they note in your application that you want benefits to begin February 2025, not January. If they push back, ask to speak with a Technical Expert or Supervisor who understands survivor benefit rules.

just a random thought but did u check if taking your OWN retirement might be better than survivor? my neighbor discovered her own benefit was higher than her husbands!

Update: I called back today and got a much more knowledgeable representative. He confirmed that starting in January would indeed reduce my benefit slightly compared to waiting until my FRA in February. He corrected my application to show February 1st as my start date and gave me a confirmation number. Thanks everyone for giving me the confidence to push back!