Widow's Benefits

Q: I am a widow and my husband was receiving Social Security.

Am I entitled to his pension?

A: I'm sorry for your loss. A widow can get up to the full amount of their husband's Social Security benefit if they meet the requirements, but if they start drawing prior to full retirement age (FRA) their benefit rate is normally reduced for age. Furthermore, if you're drawing your own Social Security benefits you could only be paid essentially the higher of your own amount or your husband's amount.

You must be at least age 60, or at least age 50 and disabled, to qualify for widow's benefits, although survivor benefits can also be paid to a younger spouse who has a child in care who is eligible for benefits on the deceased worker's record and is either under age 16 or is disabled. And, you must be unmarried, or if you've remarried your current marriage must have occurred at age 60 or older.

Also, your marriage to the deceased must normally have lasted at least 9 months, although there are exceptions to that rule (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html).

Is that correct? I cannot find a clear statement as to what impact on my application her filing status is. I did accept the offer and received the retroactive benefit today!! She was born on 5/25/1955 so I would assume her full retirement age is 66 years and two months. Does that have bearing on my app?

If they are wrong about the retro period, can I challenge the decision? The difference is about $8,000.

Thank you for your time.

A: I'm assuming you were born prior to January 2 1954, since only people born prior to then can file restricted applications for spousal benefits only. Your wife's full retirement age isn't important since she only needs to be at least age 62 for you to potentially qualify for divorced spousal benefits. But, the only way that you could claim divorced spousal benefits for months prior to the first month that your ex-wife claimed her benefits is if your divorce was final for at least 2 years. So, it sounds like you could be paid for up to 6 months retroactively from your month of filing as long as your divorce had been final for at least 2 years during all of that time.

If it sounds like you're eligible for more back pay and if Social Security hasn't yet processed your claim then you should call them back and direct their attention to section RS 00202.100 (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0300202100) of their operations manual. But, if Social Security has already processed your claim with an incorrect month of entitlement then you'll need to file an appeal. The first step of appeal is called reconsideration, and the form that you need to complete and submit is an SSA-561 (https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-561.pdf)

Q: My husband died accidental before we could even enjoy our marriage 1 month 2 weeks we was married. Leaving me with a 2 year old child in 2008 and I am disable can I file for his ss. I will be 50 March 6 2022

A: Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. I'm assuming that your husband worked and paid into Social Security long enough to be insured for survivor benefits. Normally a person must have been married for at least 9 months to qualify for widow's benefits, but that requirement is waived in the case of an accidental death. Therefore, it sounds like you might be able to qualify for widow's benefits on your husband's account at least at some point.

You must be unmarried and at least age 50 to qualify for disabled widow's benefits (DWB), and your disability needs to have started within 7 years of the later of a) your husband's date of death, or b) the end of your entitlement to child in care survivor benefits. You don't mention whether or not you've been drawing child in care survivor benefits nor the date you became disabled, so I can't tell you if and when you might qualify. If you can't qualify for DWB benefits, you'd need to be at least age 60 to potentially qualify for regular widow's benefits.

If you haven't been collecting child in care survivor benefits and if your child hasn't been drawing surviving child benefits, you should probably contact Social Security right away to see if you're eligible.

Q: My husband passed on Sept 13 this year and he was 62 and on ssd I am 61 and on ssd also I tried to file for survivor benefits and was told by someone at social security that I wasn't eligible until I was 67 everyone is telling me that it wrong what's the scoop do I contact social security I am low income now

A: Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. Assuming that you were married to your husband for at least 9 months and that his benefit rate was more than your benefit rate, then you should be eligible for widow's benefits now. Your widow's rate would be reduced for age if you start drawing prior to your full retirement age (FRA), but that reduction would go away when you reach FRA as long as you were drawing Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits before you started drawing widow's benefits.

The only way to apply for survivor benefits at the present time is by phone. You can insist on applying for benefits no matter what you're told by the people at Social Security. You can call Social Security at 800-772-1213 to make an appointment to apply for widow's benefits.

A: Your ex-husband would need to either be at least age 62 or drawing his Social Security retirement or disability (SSDI) benefits in order for you to potentially qualify for divorced spousal benefits. Therefore, unless your ex-husband is approved for SSDI benefits then you couldn't qualify for benefits from his account until he turns age 62 or dies.

Also, you would need to be at least age 62 and be unmarried in order to potentially qualify for divorced spousal benefits. Unreduced divorced spousal benefits are calculated based on 50% of the worker's primary insurance amount (PIA), but your benefit rate would be reduced for age if you start drawing prior to your full retirement age (FRA). Furthermore, you can't file for divorced spousal benefits unless you also apply for your own Social Security retirement benefits, and you can only be paid basically the higher of the two benefit rates.

Can My Mother Collect Benefits Based On Her Living Ex-Spouse's Record?

Q: Mother married for 20 years then divorced then remarried another man then widowed . Can she collect based of her living ex spouses record (first marriage)...fyi she is currently 74 and collecting on her own record since she made more than her deceased 2nd husband.

A: Possibly. Subsequent marriages don't bar a person from being able to qualify for divorced spousal benefits on a former spouse's record, provided that the subsequent marriage(s) has ended in death or divorce.

However, as long as her ex-husband is living, your mother would only be eligible for divorced spousal benefits if her ex's primary insurance amount (PIA) is more than twice as much as her own PIA. A person's PIA is equal to their Social Security retirement benefit rate if they start drawing their benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

Q: I’m a widower & my husband of 25 years passed in October 2013 all I got from ssi

Was 500 death befit. Could I have been getting his ssi ??? They said I had to be 60 but since I turn 60 in this last April I’ve heard nothing from them plus I’ve tried to get ahold of them but I get no response can you help me????

A: Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. You can claim widow's benefits as early as age 60, or as early as age 50 if you're disabled, but it isn't automatic. You would need to file an application for widow's benefits in order to potentially begin drawing them. The only way to do that while Social Security offices are closed to the public is to apply by phone. You can initiate that process by calling Social Security at 800-772-1213.

Whether or not filing for widow's benefits now would be a good idea for you, though, depends on a number of different factors. The most important of those is whether or not you could become eligible for benefits based on your own work record, and how much you are earning if you are currently working. Social Security widow's benefits are reduced for age if you start drawing them prior to your full retirement age (FRA), so in many cases it's smarter not to apply for widow's benefits when you're first eligible so that you're not stuck with a permanently lower monthly benefit rate.

You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Q: I draw a PERA retirement from my 26 year career in government. I was a homemaker before starting that career so never paid in to SS. My husband is retired and draws SS. My PERA is more than his SS. If he dies will I get any widow benefit from his SS? We have been married 54 years

A: Hi. Your unreduced widow's rate would be equal to your husband's full benefit amount, but it sounds like the government pension offset (GPO) provision will cause your widow's benefits to be offset by 2/3rds of the gross amount of your government pension (https://www.ssa.gov/pubs/EN-05-10007.pdf). Therefore, you'll probably only be able to collect widow's benefits if your husband's benefit rate is more than 2/3rds of the amount of your government pension.

Even if your widow's benefits are offset to zero, though, you would still likely qualify for a one-time death benefit of $255 from your husband's account. So, in the event of your husband's death you'd want to contact Social Security to file the pertinent application(s).

Q: If I worked in the private sector all of my career - contributing to social security, and my spouse is a teacher that doesn’t contribute to social security, is there any way she can receive part of my social security after I’m deceased?

A: Hi. The answer to that depends on several factors. Widow's can be paid up to 100% of their deceased spouse's benefit amount, but if your wife is receiving a teacher's pension then her widow's benefits would otherwise almost certainly be at least partially offset due to the Government Pension Offset (GPO) provision. GPO can cause survivor benefits to be offset by 2/3rds of the amount of government (i.e. federal, state or local agency in the U.S.) pensions they receive that are based on their earnings which were exempt from Social Security taxes.

Therefore, assuming that your wife receives a government pension based on her non-Social Security covered earnings, it sounds like she'll probably only be eligible to collect widow's benefits if 2/3rds of the amount of her government pension is less than her widow's benefit rate.

If you haven't already started drawing benefits you may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze the options available to you in order to determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Q: Larry this is my question my husband died 6 years ago this past April we had been married for two little two years and we divorced we were still together even though we were divorced we remarried and 2015 April the 3rd and he died April the 30th he had cancer and expected him to live 12 to 15 months and he threw a blood clot right after we got married they turn me down when I applied when he died 6 years ago now everything I'm reading and finding I am and was eligible for it do you have any suggestions I've applied and I'm still waiting to hear something I just thought I'd get your input thank you so much so far the people at social security that have taken the intake information have pulled up some of the same things that I have and they said that they didn't see why I didn't get it in the first place I got the $255 they told me I shouldn't have even got that and I asked them did they want me to pay it back they said no SS isn't going to give you anything for free

A: Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. You must normally have been married for at least 9 months in order to potentially qualify for widow's benefits, but since you were previously married to your husband for more than 9 months then you should be deemed to meet the length of marriage requirement as long as you had remarried him prior to his death. If you need to prove that to Social Security, the reference from Social Security's operations manual is GN 00305.100.A.2.c: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200305100.

You don't mention your age among other eligibility factors, so I'm not sure that you meet all of the other requirements for benefits which are outlined in the following section of Social Security's Handbook: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html. Assuming that you do qualify, though, and if Social Security disallows your claim based on the length of marriage issue then you should probably file an appeal. Also, if you filed for and were eligible for widow's benefits in 2015, the disallowance of that claim could likely be reopened if Social Security was aware of your prior marriage and divorce at the time you applied (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0204010020). That could potentially allow you to be paid back pay.

I don't have enough information to know if your prior claim could be reopened nor what other filing options are available to you, so I can't give you any advice regarding your best option for maximizing your benefits.