Will I get my husband's full SSDI benefits when he passes or lose my reduced retirement?

Yes, if your husband passes away, you would receive his full benefit amount as a widow instead of your reduced benefit. It doesn't matter that his benefit is SSDI rather than retirement - the survivor benefits work the same way. When someone on disability passes, their benefit essentially converts to a survivor benefit for the eligible spouse. Since you're already collecting your own benefit, SSA would automatically switch you to the higher survivor benefit amount.

When my dad died (he was on disabilty), my mom got his full amount. But she had to go to the office with the death certificate and fill out forms. It took like 6 weeks I think before she got paid.

I went through this last year and it was a NIGHTMARE trying to get through to Social Security after my husband passed!! Called for WEEKS and just got busy signals or disconnected. I was so stressed about bills piling up while waiting for the higher survivor benefit to start. My neighbor told me about Claimyr.com which got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I finally got through, they were very helpful and explained everything. But definitely save yourself the headache when the time comes.

There's a bit more nuance to this that people aren't mentioning. If you're between age 60 and your Full Retirement Age when your husband passes, you'll get somewhere between 71.5% and 100% of his benefit amount, depending on your exact age when you claim survivor benefits. Only at your FRA would you get 100% of his benefit. Also, if you're working and under your Full Retirement Age, the earnings test applies to survivor benefits too, so some benefits could be withheld if you earn above the annual limit ($22,320 in 2025).

To add to this discussion - when your husband passes, you should contact SSA right away. You can't report a death online - you'll need to call them at 1-800-772-1213 or contact your local office. Bring the death certificate when you go. You'll need to apply for the survivor benefits - they don't automatically switch you over. And as someone mentioned, the amount you'll get depends on your age at the time. If you're already at your Full Retirement Age, you'll get 100% of his benefit. If you're younger, it will be reduced somewhat, but still likely higher than your current reduced retirement benefit.

My sister thot the same thing but when her husband died (he wasnt on disability tho) she was only 58 and they told her she had to wait until 60 to get ANY widow benefits? Is that different if the person was on disability??

watch out for the tax implications too! i started getting my husbands ssdi after he passed (it was higher than my own benefit) and suddenly my tax bill went way up because his benefit amount pushed me into a higher bracket. nobody from ssa warned me about this!

What happens to his back pay if he has any? My uncle was on disability and when he died there was some back pay owed to him and I don't think my aunt ever got it...

Thank you all for the helpful information! So it sounds like I would get his benefit instead of mine (which is good since his is higher), but I need to be prepared for a potential gap in payments during the transition. I'll also need to consider how my age affects the percentage I'll receive. This has been really enlightening - the SSA website doesn't explain these specific situations clearly at all. I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences.