I am 62 and a widow. I am wondering if I take my social security out at age 63 with reduced rates, can I switch to my deceased husbands full social security at age 66 and 4 months without having to have reduced rates on his amount? My social security is about only half of what his would be. I keep getting different answers from social security.

Hi,

Yes, you can start out drawing your own Social Security retirement benefits at a reduced rate as early as age 62 and then switch to widow's benefits at full retirement age (FRA). However, you'll only receive your husband's full unreduced benefit rate if your husband did not receive reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to his death. if your husband did receive reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to his death, then it would almost certainly be more advantageous to claim your widow's benefits at some point prior to when you reach FRA.

Taking your own benefits early would not cause your widow's benefits to be reduced for age, but if you are still working your benefits could be partially or fully withheld if you earn more than the Social Security earnings test exempt amount (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html). Still, though, if your own Social Security retirement rate is substantially lower than your widow's rate it would likely be advantageous to start drawing your own retirement benefits as soon as your earnings would be low enough to permit at least some of your benefits to be paid. You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to make sure that you've identified your optimal strategy for claiming your benefits.

Best, Jerry