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Social Security survivor benefits

Q&A: You can’t spend it when you’re gone, but delaying Social Security payments makes sense

October 14, 2024 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I’m a single person with no children. I worked for one private employer for 36 years, retired from there at 54 and am now 57. My home is paid off. I receive a pension of $2,400. I’ve been working a nearly full-time job averaging $3,800 a month with 8% going into a 401(k) and 4% being matched. I have observed many fellow workers wait till 65 to collect Social Security and then die a few years later. I also volunteer at my local VFW and listen to people complain about the lack of money they have, especially the women, who unfortunately relied on their dead husbands. So would it be bad for me to start collecting my Social Security at 63?

I am a very healthy person and longevity is in the family.

Answer: Some people do die shortly after retiring. Most, though, live well past the “break-even” age, when the smaller checks they give up by delaying Social Security are more than made up for by the larger checks they receive by waiting.

And the ones who die early … well, they’re dead. They no longer care about Social Security checks. The ones who care intensely about how much they’re getting are those who survive and run through their savings. Perhaps some of the women at the VFW had husbands who started their retirement benefits early, thus stunting the survivors’ checks their wives are getting. A few years’ delay could have made a huge difference to these women, who may have to live for years or even decades on a too-small benefit.

That’s why it’s so important for the higher earner in a couple to delay starting Social Security as long as possible, preferably to age 70, when their benefit maxes out. That’s also good advice for single folks who haven’t been previously married and don’t have another person’s benefit to supplement their own.

Plus, starting Social Security before your full retirement age of 67 means you’re subject to the earnings test. That test reduces your check by $1 for every $2 you make over a certain amount, which in 2024 is $22,320.

Your good health and family longevity don’t guarantee a long life, but they certainly make it more likely. Maximizing your Social Security benefit is a powerful way to ensure you don’t run short of money in your old age.

Filed Under: Q&A, Retirement, Social Security Tagged With: break even, delaying Social Security, maximizing Social Security, Social Security, Social Security survivor benefits, survivor benefits

Q&A: A remarried military widow navigates Social Security survivor benefits

July 1, 2024 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My wife of 15 years is now 58 and I am 62. She is a military widow who was married for 17 years before her previous husband’s death. I believe she is ineligible to collect on her deceased spouse’s Social Security record because she married me. Is that right? Instead, can she collect her much smaller benefit starting at 62? I plan on waiting to apply until age 70. Can she switch from her reduced amount to half of mine at 67?

Answer: You’re correct that your marriage would prevent your wife from getting survivor benefits based on a previous spouse’s earnings record. Only people who marry after they turn 60 can get survivor benefits from a deceased spouse while married to a live one. She also would be eligible for survivor benefits from her previous husband if your current marriage ends.

Survivor benefits can be claimed as early as age 60, or at 50 if the survivor is disabled, or at any age if the survivor cares for the deceased’s child who is under 16 or has a disability. Retirement and spousal benefits, meanwhile, can start as early as 62.

Such an early start, however, means accepting a substantial reduction in her checks. Her benefits also will be subject to the earnings test, which reduces benefits by $1 for every $2 earned over a certain amount, which in 2024 is $22,320. The earnings test disappears at full retirement age, which for her is 67.

Your wife can’t claim a spousal benefit until you file for your own benefit, but she’ll be able to switch from hers once you apply.

Since there are several complicating factors to this situation, consider using a paid service such as Maximize My Social Security or Social Security Solutions to investigate the best claiming strategy.

Filed Under: Q&A, Social Security Tagged With: military spouses, Social Security, Social Security survivor benefits, survivor benefits, taking Social Security early, widow, widow benefits

Q&A: A husband dies young, a widow wonders: What are my survivor benefits?

June 17, 2024 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: My question relates to survivor benefits. How much does the surviving spouse receive in Social Security benefits if the higher-earning spouse dies at 59, before he ever became eligible? He worked for 40-plus years and met all the requirements except not reaching the minimum age. I plan to wait until next year when I’m 60 years old to collect. Will my survivor benefits be based on what he would’ve gotten if he’d reached full retirement age of 67?

Answer: The short answer is yes, but your survivor benefit will be significantly reduced if you start at age 60 and will also be subject to the earnings test, which reduces your check by $1 for every $2 you earn over a certain limit, which in 2024 is $22,320. The earnings test disappears once you reach your own full retirement age.

You’re also allowed to switch from a survivor benefit to your own, or vice versa. Most Social Security benefits don’t allow such flexibility. You could collect survivor benefits while allowing your own to grow, for example, if your own benefit would ultimately be larger.

A paid service such as Social Security Solutions or Maximize My Social Security can help you determine the best claiming strategy.

Filed Under: Q&A, Social Security Tagged With: earnings test, full retirement age, maximizing Social Security, Social Security, Social Security survivor benefits, survivor benefits

Q&A: Caught between Social Security’s two retirement ages

June 3, 2024 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I’ve received multiple conflicting answers from Social Security and hope you can clarify. My husband waited to collect until he was 70 and unfortunately passed away soon afterward. I am 66 and was instructed to apply for survivor benefits because I would be eligible to collect his enhanced benefit at age 66 plus two months. I received an “approval of application” letter in January 2024 and was expecting payment on March 20, but nothing! I went on the SSA.gov website and saw my status was “ineligible due to being employed or still working.” I’m an independent human resources consultant. I finally got through to Social Security on the phone and was told I wouldn’t be able to collect his benefits (which would be higher than mine due to his age and earnings) until I was at full retirement age, 66 plus six months. Is this true?

Answer: Yes. You just got squeezed between two different types of full retirement age.

Many people don’t realize they have two full retirement ages, one for retirement benefits and a slightly younger one for survivor benefits. At 66 and two months, you qualified for your full survivor benefit, meaning that the amount wasn’t reduced because of an early start. However, the earnings test applies because you hadn’t yet reached your full retirement age for retirement benefits. The earnings test reduces your benefit by $1 for every $2 you earn over a certain limit, which in 2024 is $22,320.

The good news is that the earnings test will end when you reach 66 years and six months, and you’ll start receiving your survivor benefit regardless of how much you get paid.

Filed Under: Q&A, Social Security Tagged With: full retirement age, Social Security, Social Security survivor benefits, survivor benefits, widow benefits

Q&A: Clearing up the deal with Social Security survivor benefits

May 27, 2024 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I read your column regarding the wife who filed for her Social Security benefits at 62 and received $1,500, while her husband filed at 70 and was receiving $4,600. You noted that after the husband died she could receive his entire $4,600 payment, but wouldn’t the amount she receives as a survivor’s benefit be reduced due to her early filing?

Answer: That’s not true. An early start reduces retirement and spousal benefits. Survivor benefits operate by different rules.

A survivor benefit can be up to 100% of what the deceased spouse received or had earned. If the husband had filed for his own benefit earlier, for example, that would reduce the survivor benefit the wife could receive. Survivor benefits also can be reduced if the survivor starts receiving them before reaching his or her own full retirement age for such benefits.

But the wife’s early start on her own benefit doesn’t affect the survivor benefit she could get if he dies first.

Filed Under: Q&A, Social Security Tagged With: Social Security, Social Security survivor benefits, spousal benefits, survivor benefits

Q&A: To qualify for Social Security survivor benefits

April 8, 2024 By Liz Weston

Dear Liz: I am 85 and have been living (unmarried) with a man since about 1977. We have always filed our tax returns separately and now we both collect Social Security. I have been told that when one of us passes, the other cannot collect the deceased one’s benefits. We have been thinking about getting married and would like to know if there is a time regulation involved.

Answer: You generally must be married for at least nine months to qualify for Social Security survivor benefits. Keep in mind that the survivor will collect only the larger of a couple’s two checks; the smaller benefit goes away.

So marriage could benefit the lower earner financially, and give the higher earner peace of mind, knowing that their lower-earning partner will have access to the larger benefit. Marriage has a number of other financial and legal benefits, including the ability to make decisions for your spouse should they become incapacitated.

Marriage would end your ability to collect a divorced spousal benefit from a previous spouse, however. If either of you have been married before and the marriage lasted at least 10 years, investigate whether you might qualify for a larger benefit based on that partner’s work record. If the previous spouse has passed, you may qualify for a divorced survivor benefit. Unlike divorced spousal benefits, divorced survivor benefits don’t end at remarriage as long as you’re 60 or older when you remarry.

Filed Under: Couples & Money, Q&A, Social Security Tagged With: divorced spousal benefits, Social Security, Social Security survivor benefits, survivors benefits

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