Get the most out of Social Security benefits
The Social Security Administration released a report on June 9 indicating that more than 15,000 widows and widowers who are receiving benefits based on their work records are entitled to receive larger benefits as survivors.
The important thing to know is that if you are eligible for both a survivor benefit and a benefit based on your work record, you can select one type of benefit first and switch to another if you find it will result in a larger check. You can’t depend on SSA to tell you when, and if, you should be switching from one benefit to another. If you don’t handle the switch properly, it will result in a large underpayment of benefits.
If you are a widow or widower, you are eligible for a survivor benefit starting at age 60. Your maximum benefit of 100% results when you apply at your full retirement age or older. If you apply at age 60, you are entitled to 71.5% of the maximum benefit. Between age 60 and your full retirement age, the benefit will be prorated accordingly. In order to be eligible for this survivor benefit, you must be currently unmarried or remarried after age 60. You are entitled to survivor benefits if you were married for at least nine months at the time of your spouse’s death. If you do apply for a survivor benefit before reaching your full retirement age, it will be discounted for as long as you live.
You also are eligible for a survivor benefit if you were divorced after a 10-year marriage and are currently unmarried or remarried after age 60.
You are entitled to receive whichever is higher, your own work benefit or a survivor benefit, not both. Consider these examples:
You applied for and receive a benefit at age 62 based on your work record. Your spouse (or ex-spouse) dies
Example 1:
when you are 66, at your full retirement age. Your spouse worked long enough to receive a Social Security benefit. Because you have reached your full retirement age, you are entitled to 100% of his/her full retirement Social Security benefit. You should contact SSA, and determine if the survivor benefit based on your spouse’s work record is greater than the benefit you are now receiving.
If that is the case, you should apply for the survivor benefit.
You were divorced after 10 years of marriage. You remarried after age 60. You are 67 and are receiving a spousal benefit based on your current spouse’s work record (50% of his/her full retirement benefit). Your ex-spouse recently died, and he/she did not apply for benefits until age 70. You are now entitled to 100% of the benefit he/she was receiving. You should contact SSA and provide the information regarding your prior marriage and divorce. You are entitled to whichever amount is greater, the survivor benefit associated with the work history of your ex or the benefit you are now receiving.
Example 2:
You are 63, and have been working long enough to earn a Social Security work benefit but have not applied for it yet. Your spouse, who is eligible for a Social Security benefit, dies. You are entitled to a survivor benefit now (at a discount), or you can wait until your full retirement age to receive 100% of the survivor benefit. You have the option to apply for the survivor benefit only, and put off applying for your own workbased benefit. From your full retirement age to age 70, your benefit based on your work record will increase 8% per year, whether you continue working or not. Accordingly, your benefit at age 70 or earlier may exceed your survivor benefit, even if that is not the case when you reach your full retirement age. So, if your survivor benefit is greater than your work-based benefit, you should apply only for the survivor benefit. You always have the option to switch later to your benefit based on your work record, if that benefit becomes greater than your survivor benefit.
Example 3:
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