Will delaying my SS until 70 increase my wife's survivor benefits if I die?
I'm currently trying to make the best financial decision for both me AND my wife regarding Social Security. I'm 63 and planning to wait until 70 to maximize my retirement benefits, while my wife (who's 61) plans to claim at her full retirement age which is 67. What's confusing me is how survivor benefits would work if I pass away first. Would my wife receive the ACTUAL amount I was receiving at death (the higher amount from delaying to 70)? Or would she only get what I would have received at my FRA (which would be significantly less)? Basically, I'm trying to determine if delaying my benefits past my FRA will end up increasing my wife's survivor benefits if she outlives me. I want to make sure my decision benefits her long-term too. I know this might be a basic question for some of you, but I've gotten conflicting information from friends and family. Thanks for any clarity!
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Chris Elmeda
Yes, delaying your benefits until 70 WILL increase your wife's survivor benefits if you pass away first. She would receive the actual higher amount you were receiving at the time of your death (or were entitled to receive if you hadn't started benefits yet). This is actually one of the strongest reasons many financial advisors recommend the higher-earning spouse delay claiming until 70 - it creates a higher survivor benefit for the remaining spouse. Since women typically outlive men, your plan makes good financial sense for your wife's long-term security. Just make sure you're both clear on how her own retirement benefits interact with survivor benefits. When you pass, she'll get either her own retirement benefit OR your benefit amount (whichever is higher), not both added together.
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Annabel Kimball
•Thank you! That's exactly what I was hoping to hear. So my decision to wait until 70 benefits BOTH of us in the long run. I appreciate the clear explanation.
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Jean Claude
my uncle tried this and it didn't work out. his wife only got what he would've got at fra. maybe the rules changed tho? this was like 10 years ago
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Charity Cohan
•This is completely WRONG information! I went through this EXACT situation with my husband who passed 2 years ago. I can 100% confirm that I receive the FULL amount he was getting at age 68 when he died, not his FRA amount. Social Security doesn't reduce survivor benefits like that. Your uncle's wife must have had some other circumstances affecting her benefits.
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Josef Tearle
When my husband died three years ago, Social Security automatically switched me to his higher benefit which was more than mine. He had delayed until 69 and yes I got his full enhanced amount. There was some paperwork though and I had to bring his death certificate to the SSA office. I think your strategy is smart. I'm thankful everyday my husband waited to claim his benefits - it's made a big difference in my financial security.
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Annabel Kimball
•Thank you for sharing your real-life experience - that's very reassuring! Did you have to wait long for the switch to happen after you submitted the paperwork?
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Josef Tearle
•It took about 6 weeks before I saw the higher amount. They did pay me retroactively to the month after his death though. Just be prepared that your wife needs to report the death within 30 days - they don't automatically know.
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Shelby Bauman
Isn't there something called a surviving spouse limit tho? My neighbor said something about a family maximum?
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Chris Elmeda
•You're thinking of the Family Maximum Benefit (FMB), which applies when multiple people (like children) are receiving benefits on the same worker's record. For a surviving spouse who has reached full retirement age, they can receive up to 100% of the deceased spouse's benefit amount with no reduction from the family maximum. The FMB mostly affects situations with multiple children receiving benefits simultaneously.
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Quinn Herbert
i waited till 70 to claim and died 2 months later, what a waste!!!! 🤦♂️ oh wait im still alive lol. but seriously, no one knows when their time is up. just something to think about.
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Salim Nasir
•This is why it's important to consider the OP's specific situation. He's planning for himself AND his wife. Even if he did pass away shortly after claiming at 70, his wife would still benefit from his maximized benefit amount for potentially decades. For married couples with disparate earnings, delaying the higher earner's benefit often makes mathematical sense even with longevity uncertainty.
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Salim Nasir
Have you tried contacting SSA directly to get an official answer? Their phone lines are completely overwhelmed lately, but I recently discovered a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me through to an actual SSA agent in under 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU I'd recommend calling and asking specifically about your survivor benefit calculation. Make sure you have both your and your wife's estimated benefit amounts from your my Social Security accounts when you call. The agent can pull up your specific numbers and give you personalized advice about your situation that will be more accurate than our best guesses here.
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Annabel Kimball
•I hadn't heard of this service! I tried calling SSA last month and gave up after being on hold for over an hour. I'll check this out - having actual numbers for our specific situation would definitely help us feel more confident in our decision.
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Charity Cohan
One thing nobody's mentioned yet - if your wife claims her OWN benefits BEFORE her full retirement age, and then later needs to claim survivor benefits, there could be REDUCTION FACTORS applied to her survivor benefit. This gets complicated FAST because it depends on her exact age when claiming each type! But if she waits until her FRA to claim her own benefits as planned, this won't be an issue for survivor benefits later.
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Annabel Kimball
•Thanks for pointing that out. She's definitely planning to wait until her FRA of 67 to claim her own benefits, so it sounds like we're on the right track.
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Shelby Bauman
This is actually a really common question, not basic at all. The survivor benefit rules are super confusing.
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Josef Tearle
•Absolutely! The whole system is confusing. When my husband died I had no idea what I was entitled to and the grief made it harder to think clearly. I wish I'd done more research beforehand like the OP is doing.
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Annabel Kimball
Thank you everyone for the helpful information! I feel much more confident now in our decision to have me delay until 70 while my wife claims at her FRA. It's a relief to know this strategy will provide her with more financial security if I predecease her (which statistics suggest is likely). I appreciate all the real-world experiences shared too.
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