My friend is helping his friend navigate the aftermath of his wife's tragic death in December 2019. He is handling the estate, and is trustee of a trust fund set up by the deceased wife for her husband's care.
The widower has been collecting SSDI for a long time (I am not sure how many years). He is now 62. Can he collect Widower benefits along with his SSDI? I saw some answers where you referenced being under 60, so I'm wondering how his age will affect his situation. His wife had not collected benefits before she died. Can you give them an idea what to expect and how to proceed?
Jerry helped me out twice with SS questions of my own. His answers were spot on and I am grateful.

Hi,

The widower in question can apply for survivor benefits on his wife's record, but he'll only qualify for additional benefits if his wife's primary insurance amount (PIA) is higher than his own PIA. A person's PIA is equal to the amount of their Social Security retirement benefit if they start drawing at full retirement age, or the full amount of their Social Security disability (SSDI) benefit.

If the widower does qualify for survivor benefits in addition to his own benefits, they'll initially be reduced for age since he's not yet full retirement age (FRA). However, that reduction would be removed once he reaches FRA since he started drawing SSDI benefits prior to when he became eligible for widower benefits.

Even if this widower's own SSDI rate is too high for him to qualify for monthly widower's benefits, though, he would likely at least qualify for a one-time death benefit of $255. So, he'll want to get in touch with Social Security to file the necessary application(s).

Best, Jerry