I am a subscriber to Maximize My Social Security and have bought and read (and continue to reference) "Get What's Yours: The Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security" (original edition, not the new Revised edition that's on sale now) but I have encountered a situation that is not covered, as best as I can tell, in the book and I am looking for some guidance.

My sister is a widow who turned turned 60 in February, 2016. She works, enjoys her job, and makes (I'm guessing) around $40K per year. She was married to her deceased husband for 9+ years before he passed away in June 2010 at the age of 61 (he was born in Sept 1948). Her husband had been collecting SSDI since June 2001 and his monthly benefit was ~$1,350. When her husband passed, my sister inquired of SSA to what benefits she was entitled. They said her only benefit was the $255 Death Benefit and sent her on her way.

Having been armed with ammunition from "Get What's Yours", I was pretty certain that she was now, at age 60, entitled to some form of Survivor Benefit, but could not find anything specific related to Survivor Benefits associated with SSDI payments, particular those that started and ended (death) before my brother-in-law reach age 62. Can you help me better understand what options my sister has at her disposal for claiming Survivor and Spousal SS benefits as well as her own benefits. Is deeming a consideration in this situation?

Thanks for any assistance you can provide. Regards, Dan Archibald

Dear Dan, Your sister most certainly can start collecting a widows benefit now that she is 60. Indeed, she can collect just her reduced widows benefit and wait till 70 to collect her own retirement benefit when it maxes out. But if her own retirement benefit at 70 is still less than her widows benefit, she'll probably want to wait till 62, take just her own reduced retirement benefit and then wait till full retirement age to take her widows benefit when it (the widows benefit) maxes out.

What she ABSOLUTELY doesn't want to do is take both benefits at the same time. There has been cases where Social Security staff have signed people in your sister's situation up for both benefits at once and that's cost them tens of thousands of dollars and, in some cases, over one hundred thousand dollars.

The fact that your sister's husband was collecting disability is immaterial. He's deceased. That's all that matters for her collecting a widows benefit.

Yours, Larry