Iam 68 i receive my ssi and a small widows pension. I have been told that I can collect my husbands ssi instead because he was the main income and i got injured and was only receiving disabilty. How does that work?

Hi. My answer assumes that you are collecting Social Security widow's benefits from your deceased husband's record. If that's the case, then it sounds like you're already receiving as much as you can from your deceased husband's Social Security record. You can't be paid both your deceased husband's full benefit rate plus your own Social Security benefit. If you're already collecting your own Social Security benefits and if your deceased husband's benefit amount was higher than yours, you would then be eligible for your own benefit rate plus a partial widow's benefit equal to the difference between your own benefit rate and your deceased husband's rate. That would result in a combined benefit amount that's basically equal to your husband's higher benefit amount. Based on the description in your question, it sounds like that's what you're getting.

However, if you're unsure about what you're receiving, I would suggest contacting Social Security. They have access to your records, so they should be able to tell you whether or not you might be eligible for any additional benefits.

Best, Jerry