Hi Larry,

I am a subscriber to the Maximize My Social Security application and need your expert help as it relates to my youngest sister's Maximize My Social Security scenario. I am helping her as she is overwhelmed and has asked her siblings to her navigate the SS labyrinth.

Sister's Scenario.

Sister date of Birth: 9/1/1960. She is recently widowed in October 2021 after 36 years of marriage. Her late husband was born in 1947 and took early Social Security benefits in 2009 at age 62. His Social Security monthly benefit at the time of his death was approx. $2020 (before Medicare Part B deduction).

My sister has earned 38 SS credits, mostly via part time & full-time employment from age 16 - 30. Her lifetime earnings (PIA) are very small and while she plans on returning to the workforce in 2022, she understands that even though she will have earned the 40 credits required for SS benefits, that she will only be entitled to one SS benefit; the higher of the 2: either the Widow's/Survivors benefit or her own SS benefit at FRA age of 67,

Would you please CONFIRM what AGE my sister is entitled to receive the Maximum Widow's/Survivor's Benefit?

She spoke last week with a Social Security representative regarding her situation and the SS representative told her that she would need to wait till she is 66 years and 8 months; not the 62 & 6 months that is shown in the Maximize My Social Security tool. She understands from her research (reading your books and via the Social Security POM web pages that the Maximum she is entitled to is 82.5% of her late husband's PIA (aka: his FRA SS benefit at age 66).

She was told that her husbands' FRA SS benefit in 2022 dollars is $2897 and thus her Maximum Widow's/Survivor Benefit would be approx $2390 in 2022 dollars).

The Social Security rep she spoke to admitted he was not an expert on Widow's/Survivor's benefits for a late spouse who took early SS benefits and he also indicated that he was only allotted 30 minutes per appointment; thus she left the call with unanswered questions and not knowing what DATE she can file for her Maximum Widow's/Survivor's benefits.

We appreciate your help in answering and confirming our questions.

Warm Regards

Laura

Hi Laura. I answer questions submitted to the 'Ask Larry' website, but I don't have access to our software customer's data. You should resubmit your question using an online contact form in the help menu so that you can receive a personalized reply from one of our experts with access to your data.

Based on what you've described in your question, though, it sounds like what your sister was told by the Social Security representative is wrong. The maximum widow's rate that can be paid when the deceased worker received reduced Social Security retirement benefits is limited to the higher of a) the deceased worker's reduced benefit rate, or b) 82.5% of the deceased worker's primary insurance amount (PIA). If your sister's husband started drawing benefits at age 62 and unless at least some of his benefits were withheld due to Social Security's earnings test, then 82.5% of his PIA would be the maximum widow's rate.

When the applicable widow's benefit maximum is 82.5% of the worker's PIA, the widow doesn't need to be full retirement age (FRA) to qualify for that rate. The exact age at which the widow's rate would reach 82.5% of the worker's PIA can vary from 62 & 4 months to 62 & 9 months depending on the widow's year of birth. For people born in 1960, the 82.5% widow's rate would be reached at age 62 & 7 months (https://secure.ssa.gov/apps10/poms.nsf/lnx/0300615305).

I should add, though, that even if a widow has reached the age at which their maximum rate would be payable, Social Security's earnings test continues to apply until they reach their full retirement age (FRA) for retirement benefits. For people born in 1960, FRA for retirement benefits is 67. So, if your sister starts working then some of her benefits may need to be withheld depending on how much she earns (https://www.ssa.gov/benefits/retirement/planner/whileworking.html).

Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) is fully capable of handling the calculations involved in a situation such as your sister's, and the filing strategy recommended by the software is based on an analysis of the pertinent variables involved.

Best, Jerry