Hi Larry I applied for my wife social security. We are still married and she died. Social security has made a decision. Is it possible that I will get her benefits

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. You won't get your wife's actual benefits, but you may be eligible for widower benefits. There are a number of eligibility requirements that need to be met in order to qualify for widower benefits, though, and there's not enough information in your question for me to know if you'll qualify for widower benefits. The eligibility requirements for widower benefits are outlined in the following section of Social Security's handbook: https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html.

If you're under your full retirement age (FRA) and if you haven't yet started drawing your own benefits, then your best filing strategy would depend on your and your wife's relative benefit rates and whether or not you are working. In that case you should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry