I'm currently 62, my wife died eight years ago and she was collecting SSDI. Is there anything I can collect off of her SSDI now that I'm 62. I continue to work full time and have no plans of retiring before my full SS benefits at 66 and 6 months but was curious if I was missing out on anything?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

It sounds like you could potentially qualify for survivor (widower's) benefits on your wife's record, but until you reach full retirement age (FRA) your benefits would be subject to full or partial withholding if you earn more than the Social Security test exempt amount. This year's exempt amount for people who are under FRA throughout 2019 is $17,640, and Social Security would need to withhold $1 of your 2019 benefits for each $2 that your earnings exceed $17,640 this year (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html). So, whether or not you could be paid any benefits depends on your benefit rate and the amount of your earnings.

It sounds like your best strategy for claiming benefits would likely be one of the following:
1) File for reduced widower's benefits now or as soon as your earnings would permit at least some benefits to be paid, then switch to your own record at age 70; or,
2) File for reduced retirement benefits on your own record now or as soon as your earnings would permit at least some benefits to be paid, then file for unreduced widower's benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

Normally, you would want to start out drawing the lower benefit first and then switch to the higher record when it reaches it's highest potential rate. Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) could sort all of this out for you and help you determine your optimal filing strategy.

Best, Jerry