I am 66 and am drawing my social security. I understand that should I die that my wife of 34 years can draw my social security when she retires My wife has never worked in the US but has worked in Germany for about 35 years. Can my wife, in the case of my death, draw my American social security when she retires as well as her German Rentenversicherung (German social security) or must she chose between the higher of the two?

Hi. Receiving benefits from the German Social Security program would have no adverse effect on your wife's ability to collect widow's benefits from the U.S. Social Security program. My expertise doesn't extend to the German Social Security provisions, though, so you may want to check with them to find out if the reverse is true.

Best, Jerry