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Losing a spouse is always difficult, but it can be comforting to know that Social Security benefits for widows and widowers could help keep your financial house in order in the years ahead.
Roughly 4 million widows and widowers receive monthly Social Security checks based on their deceased spouse’s earnings record, a significant source of financial support.
To maximize the amount you receive in survivors benefits, however, it is important to consider the rules and available claiming strategies carefully.
“The big mistake for anyone to make when filing for Social Security benefits is not understanding all of the choices that exist based on their age, health, and marital status,” said David Freitag, a financial planning consultant with MassMutual. He also noted that financial professionals typically have access to retirement income planning software tools that can help. “A financial professional can be of tremendous help by providing information when his or her client is making the Social Security benefit election.”
Timing is everything
If your deceased spouse earned enough credits during his or her working years, you as a widower may begin collecting Social Security survivors benefits as early as age 60, but your benefit will be permanently reduced by a fraction of a percent for each month before your full retirement age.
If you choose to file for benefits early, you should understand the financial consequences, said Scott Bishop, a financial professional with STA Wealth Management in Houston, Texas.
“Remember, in its basic benefit, Social Security is old-age insurance or longevity insurance," he said. “It’s intended to be money to help assure that you won’t live so long that you have no ability to support yourself.”
Nearly one in four respondents (23 percent) to a recent survey by the National Bureau of Economic Research said they regretted claiming Social Security retirement benefits too early. The older the respondents were, the more likely they were to express regret.1
In some cases, retirees file for benefits early because they under saved and cannot afford to wait. Others simply need the monthly income to cover medical bills, a loss of employment, or other unforeseen expenses. By doing so, however, they are effectively leaving free money on the table that they would otherwise be eligible to collect.
Of course, there may be good reasons to file before your full retirement age. Health concerns, a reduced life expectancy, and financial need are all important considerations.
Depending on the year you were born, your full retirement age is either 66 or 67. You will collect the full amount to which you are entitled — either your own benefit, or up to 100 percent of your deceased spouse’s benefit, whichever amount is greater — by waiting until your full retirement age.2 (Related: Drivers of Social Security payment size)
Survivors benefits for widows and widowers are worth 100 percent of the deceased worker’s benefits, which includes any delayed retirement credits he or she may have earned by postponing benefits beyond their full retirement age. Individuals born in 1943 or later who have reached full retirement age and wait to file for benefits can earn delayed retirement credits of 8 percent per year, up until age 70. This can increase monthly benefit amounts down the road by up to 32 percent. After you reach age 70, the benefit of delaying any further disappears.
Widows: Who is eligible for Social Security survivors benefits?
Widows and widowers may receive full Social Security benefits at their full retirement age or reduced benefits as early as age 60. Those with a disability that started before or within seven years of the worker’s death may begin collecting benefits as early as age 50. You may also receive survivors benefits at any age if you care for a minor child (under age 16) of the deceased worker, or if that child is disabled and receiving Social Security benefits based on the worker’s record.
If you get remarried after age 60, or age 50 if disabled, your new marriage status will not affect your eligibility for survivors benefits. However, be aware that if your current spouse is also eligible for Social Security and earns more than your former spouse, you may wish to apply for spousal benefits based on your new spouse’s record instead. (Related: Social Security spousal vs. survivor benefits)
Others who may claim Social Security survivors benefits include unmarried children of the deceased who are younger than age 18 (or up to age 19 if he or she is a full-time student in elementary or secondary school), surviving divorced spouses under certain conditions, and parents who are age 62 or older who were dependent on the deceased for at least half of their support.
Widows and widowers who collect a survivors benefit, but also qualify for a benefit on their own, may potentially collect a survivors benefit in the early years of retirement and leave their own Social Security benefit to accrue delayed retirement credits. They may then switch to their own (augmented) retirement benefit as late as age 70. (Calculator: How much should I save for retirement?)
Let’s look at an example of how survivors benefits might work for one widow — Kathy.
Example: Kathy’s Social Security benefits
Kathy is 65 years old, in good health, and nearing retirement. Bill, her deceased husband, was already collecting his full retirement age benefit when he died, which was about $300 more than her full retirement age benefit.. Kathy would like to retire and move closer to her children, but she wonders whether she should delay taking her Social Security benefit to increase the size of her monthly checks.
As a new widow, Kathy has some important decisions to make, including how and when to file for her Social Security benefits. Her benefit filing strategy can have a significant impact on her monthly cash flow and on the benefit she receives over her lifetime.
Like anyone eligible for Social Security, Kathy could file for benefits starting at age 65 and accept a reduced monthly payout for life; she could delay her retirement benefit until her full retirement age (67) and collect 100 percent of the benefit to which she is entitled; or she could delay claiming Social Security beyond her full retirement age to increase the size of her future benefit. If she waits until age 70, she would increase the size of her monthly benefit by as much as 24 percent for the rest of her life.
As a widow, however, she also has another option. If she stops working, she could file for a survivors benefit based on Bill’s earnings record, letting her own retirement benefit accrue delayed credits until age 70. At this point she would stop her survivors benefit and switch to collecting her own benefit. This is called a restricted filing strategy. Under this scenario, Kathy could potentially collect tens of thousands of dollars more, if she lives until age 85 or older, than she would if she never filed for survivor benefits.
There are other options also available to Kathy depending in her need for income or a reduced life expectancy forecast. (Related: Widow financial guide)
Seek assistance
Please be aware that you cannot apply for Social Security survivors benefits online. You must either call 800-772-1213 or contact your local Social Security office.
Because the rules related to survivors benefits are complicated, the federal government suggests that you talk it through with a Social Security representative. When you visit or call, ask for the amount of your survivors benefit and, if you are eligible to receive an individual retirement benefit, what that benefit amount would be at different filing ages.
Your financial professional can also help you explore the different filing strategies that might work best for you.
Discover more from MassMutual…
Filing for Social Security retirement benefits
Setting financial goals: Retirement
Need a financial professional? Find one here
This article was originally published in June 2017. It has been updated.
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1 National Bureau of Economic Research, “Financial Regret at Older Ages and Longevity Awareness,” November 2022.
2 Social Security Administration, “Benefits Planner: Survivors/Planning For Your Survivors.”
