I am 63 years old and lost my first husband almost 10 years ago when he was only 54 years old . He had received disability benefits during the last year of his life. After his death I received survivors benefit. I remarried at age 57 and my survivors benefit of course stopped coming in. My current husband is 74 and has been collecting SS since age 65. Given his age and his health condition I will most likely lose him as well in the not too far future. I have to think practical. My question: should I start drawing my own SS now ( which would only be $340 a month) and can I, when I am widowed a second time switch to the higher survivor benefit of the two? I am pretty sure that my first husband's will be higher....

Hi. Filing for your own benefits now certainly could turn out to be a good strategy, but you would then be stuck with a reduced monthly benefit rate for as long as your current husband is living. Also, if you're still working and if you'll earn more than $21,240 this year then some or all of your benefits may need to be withheld due to the Social Security earnings test.

Your optimal filing strategy depends on a number of different factors, so you should strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry