Will my Social Security retirement benefit be reduced if I take survivor benefits at 64?
I'm 63 and widowed last year. I've been doing a ton of research on the best strategy to maximize my SS benefits. My plan is to take survivor benefits next year when I turn 64, then switch to my own retirement benefit either at my FRA (which is 66 and 8 months) or maybe even wait until 70. But I'm confused about something... if I take survivor benefits at 64 (before my FRA), will my OWN retirement benefit also be permanently reduced when I eventually switch to it? Or are they completely separate calculations? I've been getting conflicting information and the SSA website isn't clear on this specific scenario. Thanks for any help!
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Mateo Sanchez
You're on the right track with your strategy! Taking survivor benefits early and switching to your own retirement later can be very smart. The good news is that your own retirement benefit will NOT be reduced just because you took survivor benefits early. They are calculated completely separately. Your survivor benefit will be reduced because you're taking it before your FRA, but your own retirement benefit will grow based on your own record regardless of when you took survivor benefits. In fact, if you wait until 70 to claim your own, you'll get the maximum delayed retirement credits (about 8% per year after FRA).
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Nia Wilson
•Oh thank goodness! That's exactly what I was hoping. I was so worried I might be messing up my own benefit by taking the survivor benefit early. One more question - will they automatically switch me over to my own benefit if it becomes higher, or do I need to specifically apply for that change?
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Aisha Mahmood
SSA won't automatically switch you. You need to formally apply for retirement benefits when you want to switch. I'd recommend calling or visiting your local office about 3 months before you want to make the switch. And just a heads up - the phones at SSA are TERRIBLE to get through. I spent 3 days trying to reach someone about my retirement application status. Finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an agent in about 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold for hours. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. Saved me a ton of frustration when dealing with my benefits questions.
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Ethan Clark
•Thanks for mentioning that service! The SSA phone lines are a nightmare lately. I tried calling about my husband's survivor benefits last month and kept getting disconnected after waiting an hour!
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AstroAce
my frend took suvivor benifits at 60 and her own at FRA and they didnt cut her own benefit. same thing as what your talkin about i think. but the SSA is always changin rules so who knows lol
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Nia Wilson
•Thank you for sharing your friend's experience! It's reassuring to hear about real cases where this worked out. I've been worried the rules might have changed recently.
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Yuki Kobayashi
This is actually one of the few remaining "sweet spot" strategies after the 2015 law changes eliminated file-and-suspend and restricted application for most people. You're correct that the two benefits are calculated independently. Your survivor benefit will be reduced by approximately 0.396% per month before your FRA (working out to about a 12.9% reduction at age 64), but your own retirement benefit continues to grow regardless. If you wait until 70, you'll get 124% of your Primary Insurance Amount (PIA). Just make sure your own benefit at 70 will exceed your survivor benefit - for some people, the survivor benefit is higher even with the reduction.
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Nia Wilson
•Thank you for those specific reduction percentages! I've run the numbers and my own benefit at 70 should be about $3,450 vs the survivor benefit of around $2,850 at age 64 (after reduction), so it definitely makes sense to switch. This strategy should give me about $184,000 more over my lifetime based on my calculations. I just wanted to make absolutely sure I wasn't missing something about how the benefits interact.
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Carmen Vega
WRONG INFORMATION ALERT!!!! My sister did EXACTLY what you're planning and they DID reduce her retirement benefit because she took survivor early!!!!! The SSA person said it was because she was already receiving SS benefits, so the retirement reduction applied to EVERYTHING. She's fighting it now but they already started paying her the lower amount!!!! BE CAREFUL!!!!!
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Yuki Kobayashi
•I think there might be confusion about your sister's situation. By law, retirement benefits and survivor benefits are calculated separately. Taking one early does not affect the calculation of the other. What might have happened is that your sister's own retirement benefit was always going to be reduced because she started it before her FRA - that's different from it being reduced because she took survivor benefits early. Or there could be an actual mistake that needs correcting. Many SSA representatives unfortunately give incorrect information. She should request a formal explanation of her benefit calculation in writing and potentially file for reconsideration if there's an error.
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Ethan Clark
Just went through this last year! Was so nervous about making the wrong choice. But yes, taking my survivors at 63 didn't hurt my retirement benefit at all. Just make sure you specify you're filing ONLY for survivors when you apply. The form is confusing and if you accidentally apply for both, you could end up with reduced retirement benefits. Good luck!
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Nia Wilson
•That's a really important tip about being specific on the application! I'll make sure to clearly state I'm ONLY applying for survivor benefits when the time comes. Thank you!
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Andre Rousseau
My situation is a little different but might help. I took early retirement at 62 then when my husband passed I switched to survivors at 64. Going from retirement to survivors instead of the other way around like you. But I spent HOURS with the SS people figuring out all the options. They confirmed multiple times that each benefit type has its own separate calculation. Taking one benefit type early only affects THAT benefit type, not the other. The laws on this haven't changed with any of the recent SS amendments.
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AstroAce
ugh this is all so confusing why cant the government make this simple??? i swear they want us to mess up so they can pay less
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Mateo Sanchez
•It is complicated, but there's a reason for that. The Social Security system tries to accommodate many different life situations, which requires complex rules. But I agree they could do a much better job explaining things clearly. The SSA website and publications often leave out important details about how benefits interact.
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Nia Wilson
Thank you everyone for the helpful responses! I feel much more confident now about my plan to take survivor benefits at 64 and then switch to my own retirement benefit at 70. Just to summarize what I've learned from all of you: 1) The two benefits are calculated independently 2) Taking survivor benefits early will reduce THOSE benefits, but not my future retirement benefit 3) I need to be very clear when applying that I'm ONLY applying for survivor benefits 4) I should contact the SSA about 3 months before I want to switch to my own benefit 5) If the phones are impossible, there are services that can help get through This forum has been so much more helpful than the official information! Thanks again.
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