I'm asking this question on behalf of my mother. She's 80 y/o, widowed, and legally disabled (with arthritis and moderate dementia), and also drawing a modest pension. Her SS check went up when her husband died (it's now $2,000/mo), but we're wondering if it's too late to benefit from your program given her age. Please let us know if she sounds like a candidate and we'll definitely pay the fee. Thanks, Rick

Hi Rick, from what you wrote it sounds like she's receiving her widow's benefit, which means that benefit is larger than her retirement benefit would be. She can only receive her retirement benefit or her widow's benefit and will receive the larger. If she was married more than once, she can receive a widow's benefit based any previous spouse and Social Security will tell you what those benefits would be so you can go with the larger one. They'll also tell you what her retirement benefit would be if you want to confirm that it's smaller. But you don't need software for that since you can just ask Social Security. Thanks, John