My mother is 77 years old now. At 60 she started collecting the Survivor benefit off of my deceased father's Social Security claim. She has never gone back to Social Security to switch over to the full retirement age benefit that my father-in-law would have been entitled to had he lived. He worked for 30 years paid Social Security taxes and died at the age of 56. Can she switch over from the Survivor benefit to his full retirement benefit at this point?

Hi,

Yes, if your mother is eligible for a higher benefit rate based on either her own work record or on the record of another spouse she could switch to the other record. And, since she's now over full retirement age (FRA), no reduction for age would apply to the new benefit.

Unfortunately, though, your mother could only claim benefits on the new record for no more than 6 months retroactively from her month of filing. So, if she is eligible for higher benefits she should file for them ASAP to avoid a further loss of benefits.

Best, Jerry