Will my survivor benefits increase at my FRA after claiming early at 62?
I'm so confused about my mother's survivor benefits and hoping someone here can clarify. My father passed away last year after receiving his full retirement benefit (he waited until his FRA of 67). My mother started drawing survivor benefits immediately at age 62, accepting the reduced amount. What she's wondering now is whether her benefit amount will automatically increase when she reaches her own full retirement age of 67, or if she's permanently locked into the reduced rate because she started early? The SSA representative wasn't clear about this when she initially applied. She's only getting about 71.5% of what my dad's full benefit was, and she's wondering if this percentage is permanent (aside from yearly COLA adjustments) or if it will jump up to 100% when she hits her FRA? Thanks for any insight!
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Maya Lewis
Your mother is permanently locked into the reduced survivor benefit rate. When she claimed at 62, she accepted a permanent reduction. The amount will only increase with annual COLA adjustments, but there won't be any automatic increase when she reaches her FRA. This is one of the trade-offs of taking survivor benefits early - you get payments sooner, but at a permanently reduced rate.
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Benjamin Carter
•That's what I was afraid of. Is there anything she can do at this point? She didn't fully understand this when she applied.
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Isaac Wright
my mom did the same thing! took it at 61 and regretted it later. sorry to say but its permanent :
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Benjamin Carter
•Thanks for sharing. Did your mom ever explore any options to increase her benefits after the fact?
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Lucy Taylor
While the reduction is permanent, there's one thing your mother should check: if she has her own retirement benefit that might be higher. At FRA, she could switch to her own retirement benefit if it would be larger than her reduced survivor benefit. This assumes she worked enough to qualify for her own retirement benefits. She should check her SSA account online to compare potential benefit amounts.
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Benjamin Carter
•That's helpful! She did work for about 25 years, so she definitely has her own benefit. I'll have her check if that might be higher at her FRA.
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Connor Murphy
The whole system is designed to TRAP people!!! They DELIBERATELY make these rules confusing so people claim early and save the government money. Your mom should have been CLEARLY told that if she waited until her FRA she would get 100% of your dad's benefit instead of the reduced amount. The SSA reps are trained to NOT explain all the options!!
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KhalilStar
•This is exactly what happened to my aunt too. The rep never explained the permanent reduction clearly. Just said she could apply "now or later" with no real explanation of the consequences.
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Maya Lewis
One important thing to know is that the reduction percentages for survivor benefits are different than for retirement benefits. For survivors, claiming at 62 results in about 71.5% of the full benefit amount, as you mentioned. Each month she waited beyond 62 would have increased that percentage slightly, up to 100% at her FRA. Unfortunately, once the reduced benefit is accepted, that reduction is permanent except for COLA increases.
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Amelia Dietrich
•is this also true for regular retirement benefits? i took mine at 62 too
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Kaiya Rivera
I had SUCH a hard time getting clear answers about my survivor benefits after my husband passed. I spent weeks trying to get through to SSA on the phone with no luck. I finally used a service called Claimyr (claimyr.com) that got me connected to an SSA agent within 20 minutes instead of waiting on hold forever. They have a video showing how it works at https://youtu.be/Z-BRbJw3puU. The agent I talked to explained all my options clearly, including the permanent reduction for early filing that others mentioned. Wish I'd known about this service earlier in the process!
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Benjamin Carter
•Thanks for the tip! My mom has been trying to get through to Social Security for weeks with questions about possibly switching to her own benefit. I'll let her know about this service.
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Isaac Wright
one thing nobody mentioned is TAXES!! if ur mom has other income she might have to pay taxes on part of her SS benefits. my mom was shocked when she had to pay taxes on her survivors benefits
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Lucy Taylor
•Good point about taxation. Up to 85% of Social Security benefits can be taxable if her provisional income (adjusted gross income + nontaxable interest + half of Social Security benefits) exceeds certain thresholds.
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KhalilStar
my situation is kinda similar but reversed. i'm getting my own retirement now but will switch to survivors when i hit 67 cuz my late husbands benefit was way higher than mine. does anyone know if i'll get the full 100% of his since i'm waiting till my FRA to take the survivor benefit???
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Maya Lewis
•Yes, if you wait until your full retirement age to claim survivor benefits, you'll receive 100% of your late husband's benefit. You're doing it in the optimal order if your own benefit is smaller than his.
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Benjamin Carter
I talked to my mother about all your helpful comments. She's going to check if her own retirement benefit might be higher at her FRA than her reduced survivor benefit. I just wish the SSA had explained this more clearly to her when she applied. The whole system is so complicated! Thank you all for your insights - this has been incredibly helpful for us to understand our options going forward.
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