Will my wife get my full $3100 Social Security benefit as a survivor if I die after reaching FRA?

If you pass away after claiming your retirement benefits, your wife would be eligible for survivor benefits equal to 100% of what you were receiving at the time of your death. Since she's already over her FRA (which would be 66 for her birth year), she'd get your full $3,100 benefit IF that amount is higher than what she's currently receiving on her own record. She would NOT receive both benefits - just the higher of the two amounts.

I WENT THROUGH THIS EXACT SITUATION! My husband passed last year and I had taken my SS at 62 (BIG MISTAKE in hindsight). The SSA office told me I'd get a reduced survivor benefit because I took early retirement!!! Had to fight with them for THREE MONTHS before a supervisor finally corrected it. Print out the rules from their website and TAKE IT WITH YOU when you go!! They get this wrong all the time!!!

To add some more technical details: When your wife reaches her full retirement age (which she already has at 68), she becomes eligible for unreduced survivor benefits regardless of when she started her own retirement benefits. The early filing reduction only applies if someone claims survivor benefits before their own FRA. Since she'd be applying for survivor benefits after her FRA, she would receive 100% of your benefit amount. Something else to consider - if you can afford to delay claiming beyond your FRA to age 70, your benefit would increase by about 8% per year (so potentially up to around $4,050/month). This increased amount would then become her survivor benefit if you predecease her.

Don't forget she'll also get a one-time death benefit of $255 when you pass away. Not much but it's something. Also make sure you both have your direct deposit information up to date with SSA and that she has online access to her MySocialSecurity account. Makes the whole survivor benefit transition process much easier.

I tried calling SSA about a similar question last month and spent THREE HOURS on hold only to get disconnected! Then tried again next day and waited another hour. So frustrating when you're trying to plan for something this important!

my husband died 3 yrs ago i was already 67 when he died i got his full benefit no problem but had to bring death certificate marriage certificate and my ID to the office they dont do it automatically u have to apply

One additional point: When planning for survivor benefits, remember that your wife will need to actually apply for them - they don't automatically switch over. She would need to contact Social Security within 30 days of your passing to avoid any gaps in payment. And as someone else mentioned, she'll need your death certificate, marriage certificate, and her ID to complete the application. Also, your current benefit estimates from SSA might change slightly before you actually retire, so keep that in mind when planning.

ALSO!!! Please keep copies of your annual Social Security statements somewhere your wife can find them!!! My husband's final benefit amount was $75 less per month than what he told me it would be and I had no way to verify because I couldn't find his statements anywhere. SSA just told me to accept what they calculated!!!

I'm new to this community but wanted to share something I learned when helping my parents with their Social Security planning. Make sure to also consider that if your wife is still working when you pass away, there are earnings limits that could affect her survivor benefits if she's under her full retirement age at that time. Since she's already 68, this won't be an issue for her, but it's something others in similar situations should be aware of. Also, I'd recommend getting a written estimate from Social Security about what her survivor benefit would be - sometimes the online calculators don't account for all the nuances of your specific situation.

As someone who recently went through Social Security planning with my elderly parents, I wanted to add that it's also worth considering the tax implications of survivor benefits. Your wife's survivor benefit would be subject to the same federal income tax rules as regular Social Security benefits - so if her total income (including the survivor benefit) exceeds certain thresholds, up to 85% of the benefit could be taxable. Since she'd be receiving a higher monthly amount ($3,100 vs whatever she's getting now), this might push her into a higher tax bracket. It's something to factor into your overall financial planning. Also, make sure she knows that Medicare premiums are typically deducted directly from Social Security payments, so the actual amount she receives might be slightly less than the gross benefit amount.

As a newcomer to this community, I wanted to share something I learned recently that might be helpful for your situation. When my aunt was dealing with survivor benefits, she discovered that Social Security has a "deemed filing" rule that can be confusing. Since your wife has already filed for her own retirement benefits, when she becomes eligible for survivor benefits, she'll automatically be deemed to have filed for both - but she'll only receive the higher amount, not both. The good news is that since she's already past her FRA, there won't be any reduction to the survivor benefit due to early filing. One thing that really helped my aunt was creating a timeline document showing when each benefit started and what the projected survivor benefit would be, which made it much easier when she had to meet with SSA later. Also, don't forget that if you have any delayed retirement credits by waiting past your FRA, those will increase the survivor benefit amount too!