Greetings to you. I’ve been collecting widow benefits from husband for 3 years. I’ll be 71 9/4/2019 want to apply for my benefits and still working. I was under the impression that I couldn’t get my benefits since I’m still working. I was informed when I went to collect husband’s benefits that I couldn’t collect mine until I retire. I need clarity regarding discontinuing husband’s and applying for mine which is greater. Since I’m maxed out at 70 and I’m 71 could I get retroactive to last September when I was officially 70? Thanks for your time and attention to my question. Have a fabulous Labour Day. Linda

Hi Linda,

No, you can't claim your Social Security retirement benefits retroactively for more than 6 months from your month of filing. If your own Social Security retirement benefit rate is higher than your widow's rate you should apply for your own benefits ASAP, and you'll want to claim the maximum 6 months of retroactivity. Your benefit rate doesn't get any higher if you wait past age 70 to claim your benefits, so it sounds like you've already lost some benefits that you won't be able to recover. It doesn't matter whether or not you're working since there's no limit on earnings once you reach your full retirement age (FRA), which in your case was age 66.

If you were dissuaded from filing for your own benefits at age 70 because you were misinformed by someone at Social Security, then it's conceivable that Social Security could allow you claim your benefits retroactively to age 70 if you can establish that you were in fact misinformed. I must caution you, though, that misinformation allegations are rarely approved by Social Security, so you'd likely have your hands full trying to prove misinformation to their satisfaction. For more information on the rules for establishing misinformation, refer to the following reference from Social Security's operations manual: https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0200204008.

Best, Jerry