Social Security and the widow benefit: What to know

I’m trying to decide whether to take Social Security early. My full retirement age (FRA) is 67. I know that my benefit is substantially and permanently reduced if I start collecting it at 62. My husband, who is 10 years my senior, currently collects Social Security. If he dies, would I get the full amount he is collecting? Or would taking my own benefit early also reduce my widow’s benefit?  

That depends on your age when you apply for it. If you wait until your FRA to apply for your widow’s benefit, you’ll receive 100% of the amount your husband was collecting (or was eligible to collect) when he died.

Here’s how the rules work:

Let’s say Joan applies for the Social Security benefit based on her own work record at 62. She would receive only 70% of the benefit she’d have gotten at age 67.

Let’s say her husband Bob dies two years later, when Joan is 64. If she files for her widow’s benefit at 64, she’ll receive 87.8% of Bob’s benefit. But if she delays her application for her widow’s benefit until she’s 67 years old, she’ll qualify to receive 100% of his benefit.

In this example, Joan qualifies for two benefits — one based on her own work record and one based on Bob’s work record. But nobody can collect two Social Security benefits at the same time. She’ll receive the larger of the two.

You’re asking sensible questions. Even happy marriages eventually come to an end, leaving a survivor. Moreover, Social Security widow and widower benefits are a uniquely reliable source of income in old age: inflation-adjusted and backed by the U.S. government.

The bottom line:

Social Security has a special set of rules for widows and widowers.

More information:

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