I was layed off at 60, collected unemployment for one year, then collected on my late husband's account for 2 years. I then filed for my own account because I was told benefits would go down for the time I was not working. If benefits are calculated based on 35 years of work history, the nonworking years between 63 and FRA would not have figured in the calculation. I could have continued on my late husband's account until I reached FRA, then gone on my own account. I was misinformed about the benefits calculation. Could my case be recalculated to see if I should have waited and possibly correct the situation. BTW, my earnings were higher than my late husbands.

Hi,

I assume you mean that your own retirement benefit rate is higher than your widow's rate. If that's the case your best strategy probably would have been to draw your widow's benefits until age 70 and then switch to your own higher retirement benefits at that time. But, if you instead switched to your own record at age 63, you'll be stuck with your reduced retirement rate permanently. There would be no recalculation unless you have additional earnings that would cause your retirement benefit rate to increase.

You don't mention your current age, so I don't know what if any options might be available to you. If you've been drawing your retirement benefits for less than a year, you could withdraw your claim for retirement benefits and go back to receiving your lower widow's rate (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/withdrawal.html). Social Security might also allow you to withdraw your claim even if it was filed more than a year ago, if you could establish to their satisfaction that you filed for your own benefits early due to misinformation that you received from them.

However, as a condition for withdrawing your retirement benefit claim you'd be required to repay the difference between your higher retirement rate and your lower widow's rate for any months that you've already been paid at the higher rate. If you do withdraw your claim you could then reapply for your retirement benefits, and age 70 would likely be the best time to do so. But, you can only claim benefits up to 6 months retroactively, so if you're already over age 70 & 6 months then withdrawing your claim and refiling for benefits might not be a good option.

If you think it sounds like withdrawing your claim might be an option for you, you may first want to consider using our software to determine your optimal strategy.

Best, Jerry