Will my husband's survivor benefits be reduced if he takes Social Security early at 63 but I die before my FRA?

If you die before claiming benefits, your husband would be eligible for survivor benefits based on what your benefit would have been at the time of your death. His early retirement reduction would NOT affect his survivor benefits. So in your scenario, if you pass away after reaching your FRA but before claiming, he would be eligible for 100% of your FRA benefit amount (the $2,800). If you died before reaching your FRA, the survivor benefit would be reduced to account for your age at death. One important note: When he becomes a survivor, he would have choices. He could either: 1. Continue his own reduced retirement benefit and then switch to the higher survivor benefit later 2. Take the survivor benefit immediately and switch to his own benefit later if it would be higher The rules are complex but definitely worth understanding for financial planning.

My husband started collecting at 62 and I waited until 70. When he became widower two years ago the SSA office COMPLETELY messed up his survivor benefits!!! Took us 3 MONTHS of fighting to get it corrected. They tried to give him reduced amount cause he took his early even tho thats NOT how it works!!! Make sure ur husband knows the rules better than they do! Print something from SSA website that explains it and take it with when he applies after ur gone (sorry to be blunt). The amount he gets from his OWN benefit has NOTHING to do with survivor benefits he'd get from yours!!!

Sorry about thinking of this stuff, but good planning. My mom just went thru this exact thing with my dad passing last year. The survivor benefit is based on the deceased's benefit amount (or what they would have received). Your hubby filing early only affects HIS own benefit, not what he'd get as your survivor.

I was in a similar situation and spent WEEKS trying to get through to SSA on the phone. The wait times were ridiculous - kept getting disconnected after waiting 2+ hours! I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an actual SSA agent within 20 minutes. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU The agent I spoke with confirmed exactly what others are saying here - survivor benefits are based on the deceased spouse's record and age at death, not on whether the surviving spouse took benefits early. Huge relief to get a definitive answer directly from SSA.

Let me clear up a few technical points that might help in your planning: 1. Survivor benefits are calculated based on the deceased's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) or actual benefit amount if they were receiving benefits. 2. If you die after reaching FRA but before filing, your husband would be eligible for 100% of your PIA. 3. If you die before reaching FRA, your husband would receive a reduced amount based on the Retirement Insurance Benefit-Limitation (RIB-LIM) provision. 4. Your husband's decision to take his own benefits early results in a permanent reduction to HIS retirement benefit only. This reduction does NOT carry over to survivor benefits. 5. When he becomes eligible for survivor benefits, he would effectively have two separate benefits and could choose which to receive at different points in time. SSA Publication No. 05-10084 covers this in detail if you want to reference the official policy.

my wifes ben collecting since 62 and im waiting til 67 this fall. our financial guy said the EXACT same thing as these folks. her filing early dont affect my survivor benefits if i kick the bucket first. its a seperate calculation.

Actually i think it DOES matter!!! my cousin started SS early and when her husband died she got LESS than his full amount. something about combined family maximum or something. you should double check with SSA directly.

Thank you all for the incredibly helpful responses. This has been so educational! It sounds like the consensus is that my husband's decision to take his benefits early won't affect his potential survivor benefits if I pass away after reaching my FRA (even if I haven't filed yet). I'm going to look up that SSA Publication No. 05-10084 that was mentioned and print it out for our records. Also going to bookmark that Claimyr service in case we need to speak directly with SSA about this or other matters. Now we can make our decisions with better information. We were considering having him delay filing, but knowing this makes his early filing less concerning from a worst-case scenario perspective.

You're very welcome! It's so important to have this information when making these big decisions. One additional tip from my experience working with clients on Social Security planning - consider documenting your current benefit estimates and projected amounts in a file that your husband can easily access. Include your Social Security statements, any communications from SSA, and the research you've done. Also, while you're looking up that publication, you might want to check out SSA's "What Every Woman Should Know" publication (05-10127) which has a good section on survivor benefits. It's written in plain English and covers a lot of scenarios like yours. Sounds like you've got a solid plan now - your husband can file early with confidence knowing it won't hurt his potential survivor benefits down the road. Good luck!

This is such valuable information, and I really appreciate how thorough everyone has been in explaining the rules. As someone who's been helping folks navigate Social Security for years, I can confirm what others have said - your husband's early filing absolutely will NOT reduce his survivor benefits. One thing I'd add that might be helpful: if your husband does become a survivor, he'll want to understand his timing options. Since his own benefit will be permanently reduced due to early filing, but your survivor benefit would be based on your full amount, he might benefit from what's called a "restricted application" strategy where he could potentially switch between benefits at different times to maximize his total lifetime benefits. Also, just a heads up - when the time comes (hopefully many years from now), make sure to apply for survivor benefits promptly. Unlike retirement benefits, survivor benefits can't be paid retroactively for more than 6 months, so timing matters for maximizing the total amount received. You're doing great by planning ahead and getting the facts straight!

As someone who went through this exact scenario with my parents, I can confirm what everyone else is saying - your husband's early filing won't affect his survivor benefits at all. My dad filed at 62 and my mom waited until her FRA of 66. When mom passed away two years ago, dad was able to switch to her full benefit amount without any reduction due to his early filing. One thing that really helped us was creating a simple one-page summary of all the key facts - both of their Social Security numbers, their projected benefit amounts, and the key rules about survivor benefits. We kept copies in multiple places so it would be easy to find when needed. The SSA office actually commented on how organized we were and it made the whole process much smoother during an already difficult time. Your planning ahead like this will really pay off if your husband ever needs to navigate this situation. The peace of mind alone is worth it!