My husband is in a coma and it does not look good. I am currently working as a driving instructor and wondering if my husband dies, can I collect spousal social security and continue working?

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about your husband's condition. Whether or not you could collect survivor benefits in the event of your husband's death depends on your age, whether or not you have a child in your care who is under age 16 or disabled, how much you're earning if you're under full retirement age (FRA), and whether or not you've already started drawing your own Social Security benefits.

Assuming that you don't have an eligible child in your care, the earliest that you could qualify for widow's benefits is at age 60, or age 50 if you're disabled. If you're between age 60 and the year you reach FRA and you claim widow's benefits, Social Security would need to withhold $1 of your benefits for each $2 that you earn in excess of the Social Security earning test exempt amount. That amount is $18,240 in 2020. If you earn more than that, then whether or not you could be paid any benefits depends on your benefit amount and the amount of your earnings.

You may want to consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to help you determine whether or not you're eligible for benefits, and your best strategy for claiming benefits.

Best, Jerry