Key Points
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Social Security takes care of people whose spouses pass away.
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Your survivor benefit could be worth up to 100% of what your spouse was entitled to.
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It can be challenging to figure out when to claim a survivor benefit, so consulting a financial advisor could be a smart bet.
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Many people who collect Social Security are able to do so because they worked and paid into the system for years. But Social Security doesn’t only pay benefits to retired workers.
If you have a spouse who passed away and was eligible for Social Security, you may be entitled to survivor benefits, even if you never worked. But you should know that the timing of your survivor benefit claim will help determine how much money you get from Social Security each month.
The rules can be complicated
In this Reddit post, we have someone whose spouse passed away more than a decade ago. The poster is not eligible for Social Security based on their own earnings record. At this point, the only benefit they’d be able to get is a survivor benefit.
The rules for claiming Social Security survivor benefits are different than the rules for claiming a benefit based on your own earnings record. In the latter scenario, the earliest age to sign up is 62.
With survivor benefits, you can file as early as age 60. But you should know that if you don’t wait until your full retirement age (FRA) to claim a survivor benefit from Social Security, your monthly payments will be reduced. FRA is 67 if you were born in 1960 or later.
Meanwhile, your survivor benefit from Social Security is worth 100% of what your spouse was entitled to, provided you wait until FRA to sign up. If you file earlier, your survivor benefit will be reduced on a lifelong basis. If you’re reliant on that income to cover your expenses, you may want to wait until FRA to claim Social Security, or at least get as close to FRA as possible.
The poster above doesn’t state how much savings, they have, if any, so it’s hard to know what advice to give them in that regard. But if the poster needs those monthly Social Security checks to stay afloat, waiting until FRA to take survivor benefits is a smart move.
It pays to get help with this big decision
Not only is the poster trying to figure out when to claim Social Security survivor benefits, but they’re also wondering if they’re eligible for missed cost-of-living adjustments dating back to when they could’ve first filed.
It’s an interesting question, but Social Security generally does not pay retroactive COLAs so much as adjust those benefits for COLAs. So you won’t receive a “catch-up check” for COLAs you missed out on.
If you want to know what survivor benefit to expect from Social Security, you may want to put in a call to the agency, speak to someone, and ask. And if you need money sooner rather than later but can’t work, it could pay to claim your survivor benefit a bit early rather than go into debt to stay afloat.
If you’re not sure what to do, a good bet is to consult a financial advisor. Even if you don’t have a large portfolio for them to manage, a financial advisor can review your personal situation and offer guidance on when to claim Social Security in a situation like this, or in general. Considering how important that money might be to you in the coming years, it’s a conversation worth having.
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The post My spouse died and I’m not sure what Social Security survivor benefit I’m eligible for appeared first on 24/7 Wall St..
