Will I receive 100% of my husband's Social Security benefits as a widow or keep my own?

You're asking a very important question that many couples wonder about. As a widow, you would receive the higher of either your own benefit or your husband's full amount - but not both. Since your husband's benefit is higher than yours, you would start receiving his full benefit amount and your own benefit would stop. This is called the Survivor Benefit. Since you're both already receiving benefits and your husband is past his Full Retirement Age (FRA), you would receive 100% of what he was getting. The transition isn't automatic though - you would need to apply for survivor benefits when the time comes.

when my mom's husband passed she got his benefit which was higher. you dont get both tho. you just get the bigger one. but call them right away when it happens cuz they dont automatically switch you over

I just went through this last year when my husband passed away. The funeral home actually notified Social Security about his death, but I still had to go to the SSA office with his death certificate to apply for survivor benefits. They did NOT automatically switch me over!! I missed a month of payments because I didn't know I had to apply separately. Also - they gave me a one-time death benefit of only $255. That barely covered anything for the funeral costs which was frustrating!!!

The rule is simple - you get the higher of the two benefits, not both. So yes, you'd get his higher benefit and yours would stop. It's basically a replacement. BTW make sure your husband has listed you as a beneficiary on his MySocialSecurity account. It makes things much smoother.

Actually, there's a bit more to this than some are saying. While you will receive the higher of the two benefits (likely your husband's), the timing matters. If you claim survivor benefits before YOUR full retirement age (which would be 66 and 4 months if you're 65 now), you'll receive a reduced amount - not the full 100%. But since you're already collecting your own benefit, in your case you'd likely just be switched to the survivor benefit when you report his passing. Also, don't forget that the month of death is important - if he receives a payment for the month he passes, that sometimes needs to be returned depending on what day of the month he passes. The whole process can be frustrating because SSA offices are SO backed up right now.

I had to deal with this exact situation last year. Trying to reach SSA by phone was IMPOSSIBLE - I spent hours on hold only to get disconnected. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real person at SSA in under 20 minutes. They have a video demo at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU that shows how it works. Saved me so much frustration during an already difficult time. As for your actual question - yes, you'll get your husband's full benefit and yours will stop, but you MUST apply for it - it's not automatic.

This is such a depressing topic BUT so important to understand!! My friend just went through this and she said the most important thing is to REPORT THE DEATH QUICKLY. Social Security doesn't know someone died unless they're told. And you definitely don't get both benefits - just the higher one. Social Security isn't that generous lol

To answer your follow-up question - there could potentially be an advantage to waiting until your FRA to claim survivor benefits, but it depends on your specific situation. If your own benefit might grow to exceed your husband's benefit amount by the time you reach age 70 (through delayed retirement credits), there's a strategy where you could take the survivor benefit at your FRA and then switch to your own higher benefit later. However, given that you're already collecting your own benefit and said your husband's is significantly higher, this strategy likely wouldn't apply. In your case, applying immediately would probably make the most sense.

One more important thing to note - when your husband passes away, you should not cash or deposit his final Social Security payment if it arrives after his death. That payment will need to be returned to SSA. They will then issue the correct payment based on the date of death. This is a common point of confusion that can lead to overpayment issues later.