Can I draw my husband Social Security now he has passed away? We was still married but didnt live together cause personal reason. I know if he drawn more than me that I would lose my Social Security is that true? Thank you

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

You don't need to be living with your spouse at the time of their death in order to potentially qualify for widow's benefits, but you haven't listed enough information for me to know if you meet the requirements for entitlement to widow's benefits. The requirements can be found in the following section of Social Security's handbook: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html.

If you're already drawing your own Social Security benefits you wouldn't lose those benefits if you apply for widow's benefits. What would happen instead is that If your husband's benefit rate was higher than your benefit rate you could potentially qualify for a partial widow's benefits that when added to your benefit would bring your total rate up to the higher widow's rate.

Best, Jerry