Will Social Security COLA increases apply to survivor benefits if I delay claiming until 70?

Yes, survivor benefits DO receive COLA increases even while you're waiting to claim them. So in your situation, if your husband's benefit was $2,800/month when he passed, and there's a 3% COLA each year, that amount will continue to grow with inflation during those 5 years you're waiting. You don't lose the COLAs by delaying.This is actually one of the advantages of survivor benefits compared to retirement benefits - they grow with COLA while you wait, but they don't get delayed retirement credits like your own retirement benefit would.I went through this exact situation when my wife passed. I waited 4 years to claim her survivor benefit, and it had grown quite a bit with the COLAs by the time I started receiving it. Make sure you've filed the initial death report with SSA though - that establishes your eligibility even though you're not claiming yet.

Thank you so much for explaining this! That's a huge relief to know I won't miss out on those COLA increases. I did file the death report right after he passed, so I guess I'm all set there. I appreciate you sharing your personal experience - it makes me feel more confident about my decision to wait.

just wanted to add that u should really double check this at your local office cuz my mom thought the same thing but when she finally applied they calculated differently than she expected!!! the agent said something about the PIA and indexing factors that confused her. better safe than sorry!!!

Oh that's concerning! I've been trying to call my local office for weeks but can't get through. The phone system is so frustrating. I'll keep trying though - you're right that I need to confirm this directly with SSA.

I tried contacting SSA about a similar issue for MONTHS with no luck - busy signals, disconnects, and 2+ hour hold times that ended with nothing. Finally found a service called Claimyr that got me through to an actual SSA agent in under 20 minutes. Totally saved my sanity! You can see how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU or just go to claimyr.comRegarding your actual question - the previous poster is correct that COLA adjustments WILL be applied to survivor benefits even while you delay claiming. The benefit amount is established at the time of death but continues to receive all COLA increases.However, unlike retirement benefits, survivor benefits don't increase with delayed retirement credits. So waiting past your FRA won't increase the base benefit - you'll just get the COLA increases. Make sure you understand this distinction when planning.

Thank you for that service recommendation! I'll definitely check it out because the phone situation is making me crazy. And thanks for confirming about the COLAs. I'm actually already past my FRA (which was 66 and 2 months), so I understand I won't get additional increases beyond that. I'm mainly waiting because my own retirement benefit will be higher at 70 than the survivor benefit, so this is part of a larger strategy.

The way it was explained to me when I went through this last year is that your husband's benefit gets COLA increases EVERY year regardless of when you claim it. So YES those increases will be added during your waiting period.BUT what gets confusing is that there are actually TWO calculations involved with survivor benefits: 1) what your husband was receiving when he died, or 2) what he WOULD HAVE received if he had lived to FRA (if he died before reaching FRA). They give you whichever is higher.Are you also eligible for retirement benefits on your own record? If so, you might want to consider taking the SMALLER benefit first and switching to the larger one later. This strategy can maximize lifetime benefits in many cases.

This is excellent information, but I want to clarify one important point: The \

This is really helpful information! My own benefit at 70 should be higher than my survivor benefit, so I've been thinking I should wait to claim anything until 70. But what you're suggesting is that I could take the survivor benefit NOW and then switch to my own retirement benefit at 70? Would there be any penalty or reduction if I did that? I thought if I took ANY benefit before 70, I'd be stuck with a permanently reduced amount.

To directly answer your question: Yes, Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs) will continue to be applied to your survivor benefit even during the years you delay claiming. Your late husband's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) - which is the basis for your survivor benefit - will receive all COLA increases that occur between his death and when you eventually claim.Regarding your follow-up question about claiming strategies: Survivor benefits and retirement benefits are treated as separate entitlements, and you can claim them at different times. There's no penalty for claiming survivor benefits early if you plan to switch to your own retirement benefit later.Here's how this works:1. If you take the survivor benefit now at 65, it will be slightly reduced (about 4.75% below the full amount) because you're claiming before your FRA of 66+2mo.2. This reduction ONLY affects the survivor benefit.3. You can then switch to your own retirement benefit at 70, which will include all delayed retirement credits (32% increase over your FRA amount).This strategy often maximizes lifetime benefits when your own benefit at 70 will exceed the survivor benefit.

Thank you for this detailed explanation! I had no idea I could take the survivor benefit now with only a small reduction and STILL get my full enhanced retirement benefit at 70. This changes everything in my planning. Just to confirm: If I take the reduced survivor benefit now, and then at 70 switch to my own retirement benefit with all the delayed credits, I'd be getting approximately 4 years of survivor benefits that I otherwise would have missed out on by waiting until 70, right? That seems like a no-brainer if my own benefit at 70 will be higher anyway!

I JUST WENT THROUGH THIS EXACT SITUATION and I want to warn you about something NO ONE told me!!!! When I went to apply for survivor benefits after waiting 3 years, they did add all the COLAs but then they SUBTRACTED those months I was eligible but didn't claim from my back payment!!!! So YES you get the COLAs but NO you don't get retroactive benefits for the months you were eligible but chose not to apply! The SSA rep told me I could have applied earlier and SUSPENDED the payments if I wanted to

wait is this actually true? i thought survivor benefits could be paid retroactively for up to 6 months?? did u ask for a supervisor or anything??

YES I spoke to a supervisor who confirmed this policy! Survivor benefits CAN be paid retroactively for up to 6 months ONLY, not for the entire period you were eligible! So if you wait 5 YEARS like the original poster is planning, she'll only get retroactive payments for 6 MONTHS, not the full 5 YEARS! That's potentially TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars GONE FOREVER!!!!

The previous comment raises an important point about retroactivity that I should clarify. Survivor benefits can indeed be claimed retroactively, but only for up to 6 months prior to your application date.This is why the claiming strategy I mentioned could be beneficial: If your own retirement benefit at 70 will be higher than the survivor benefit, claiming the survivor benefit earlier (even slightly reduced) and then switching to your retirement benefit at 70 often maximizes total lifetime benefits.To summarize the key points about survivor benefits and COLAs:1. Yes, survivor benefits receive all COLA increases during years you delay claiming2. Survivor benefits are only retroactive for 6 months maximum3. Taking reduced survivor benefits now doesn't affect your own retirement benefit at 704. The survivor benefit reduction for claiming before FRA is relatively small (0.396% per month)5. Strategies for survivors are complex and highly individual-specificI'd recommend consulting with an SSA representative to verify the best approach for your specific situation.

Thank you so much for clarifying! I really appreciate everyone's help here. I think I'm going to apply for the survivor benefit right away based on all this information. Waiting until 70 for everything would mean leaving money on the table if my own retirement benefit will be higher anyway.I'll try to get through to SSA to confirm all of this specifically for my situation. The 6-month retroactivity limit is especially important information I hadn't considered!

Sorta related but I have a question - my husband passed 2 years ago and I'm 63 now. If I take survivor benefits at my FRA (which is 66 and 4 months), will that amount include the COLAs from when he died until I claim? And does it matter that he was only getting 80% of his full retirement because he claimed early at 62?Sorry to piggyback on your question but this thread has been really helpful!

Yes, your survivor benefit will include all COLAs from when your husband died until you claim.Regarding the reduced benefit - when a person claims retirement benefits early and then passes away, the survivor benefit calculation can work in two ways:1. If your husband was already receiving reduced benefits when he died, your survivor benefit will be based on that reduced amount, but it cannot be less than 82.5% of his Primary Insurance Amount (PIA).2. Alternatively, you're entitled to what your husband would have received if he was still alive when you claim survivor benefits, including any COLAs.SSA will give you whichever amount is higher. And yes, all COLAs that have occurred since his passing will be applied to whichever calculation is used.

Thank you! So even though he took his benefit early, I might still get more than what he was receiving when he passed away? That's good to know. I really appreciate your help!