Will my survivor benefits be reduced? Husband received SSDI for only 2 months before passing

the fact he was on SSDI shouldnt matter at all for your benefits. SSDI converts to retirement benefits at FRA anyway, so its all the same pot of money. what matters is his lifetime earnings record, not that he got disability at the end.

A few important things to know about survivor benefits in your situation: 1. The fact that your husband received SSDI for a short time before passing will NOT reduce your survivor benefits. Those benefits were based on his earned right to disability benefits. 2. Your survivor benefit will be based on your husband's full benefit amount - essentially what he would have received at his full retirement age. 3. Since you're waiting until your full retirement age (67), you'll receive 100% of your husband's benefit amount. 4. You should bring several documents when you apply: your husband's death certificate, your marriage certificate, your birth certificate, your husband's Social Security number, and your Social Security number. 5. You can only apply for survivor benefits by phone or in person, not online. Hope this helps clarify things for your planning!

When my dad died my mom went through this same thing!!! She had to wait foreeeever to talk to someone at social security. They kept hanging up on her when she called. So frustrating! Make sure you have aaaaaall your paperwork together because they will make you start over if you forget something!

A certified copy of the death certificate is perfectly fine - they'll make a copy for their records. And yes, I'm certain the SSDI payments won't affect your benefit calculation. The survivor benefit is based on the deceased's Primary Insurance Amount (PIA), which is calculated from lifetime earnings, not based on what benefits were actually paid out before death.

THE SSA WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE MISERABLE TRYING TO APPLY! I'm going through this right now with my mother's survivor benefits and it's a NIGHTMARE. Been trying to reach someone for THREE WEEKS! They disconnect you after waiting for hours or tell you to call back another day. It's disgraceful how they treat seniors who are just trying to get what they deserve after paying into the system for decades!!!

I was in almost the exact same situation last year. My husband had been on SSDI for about 4 months before he passed, and I was worried about how it would affect my survivor benefits. I tried calling SSA for weeks but couldn't get through - kept getting disconnected or told to call back later. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to a real SSA agent in about 20 minutes instead of spending days trying. They have a video showing how it works: https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU Once I got through, the agent confirmed that my husband's short time on SSDI had no negative impact on my survivor benefits. They're calculated based on his earnings record as if he had reached full retirement age, regardless of the disability payments he received. Hope this helps ease your mind!

There's an important distinction to understand here. The SSA calculates survivor benefits based on the Primary Insurance Amount (PIA) of the deceased worker, which is determined by their lifetime earnings record. The fact that your husband received SSDI for a short period before passing is irrelevant to this calculation. However, there's one special provision that might actually work in your favor. When someone dies while receiving SSDI, the SSA will often recalculate the PIA using a special "Disability Freeze" method that can result in higher benefits by excluding periods of low or no earnings due to disability from the calculation. Since you're waiting until your full retirement age to claim, you'll receive 100% of his benefit amount. This is typically the smartest approach unless you have immediate financial needs or health concerns that might affect your longevity. One more thing to be aware of: survivor benefits are paid one month behind. So if your FRA is in June, for example, you'd receive your first payment in July.

my aunt got widows benefits and they messed up her payments like 3 times before getting it right. make sure u check every statement they send u!

I'm confused about something... if her husband was only 57 when he died, and she's turning 60 next month, and she says it was 7 years ago... something doesn't add up with the math?? Wouldn't he have been 50 when he died if she was 53 then and is turning 60 now?

btw you dont have to wait til 67 if you dont want to. you can take reduced benefits at 60 if you need the money now. its like 70% of the full amount i think