I am currently 65 years old and plan on taking my Social Security retirement when I reach full retirement age of 66 years and six months. I am nine years older than my spouse and my question is if I would pass away would my wife be able to collect on the Social Security that I paid all the years once she reaches the age of 60? If so, how much.

Hi. Yes, at least potentially. There is an earnings test that applies until a person reaches their full retirement age (FRA), so if your wife files for widow's benefits prior to FRA and if she is working and earns too much then her benefits could be fully or partially withheld depending on how much she earns (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html).

If your wife claims widow's benefits when she reaches age 60 her benefit rate would be reduced for age to 71.5% of your primary insurance amount (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). However, if your wife waits until her FRA to claim widow's benefits, she could be paid up to your full benefit rate.

By the way, if you want to provide the highest possible potential survivor rate for your wife you should at least consider waiting until age 70 to start drawing your benefits. If you do so, your wife could be paid as much as your full age 70 rate as a widow.

Your best overall filing strategy depends on a number of different variables, so before you decide when to claim your benefits you should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry