My husband passed away 2 years ago. I will turn 60 in 2 more years. I am currently working full time with benefits. At age 60 can I continue to work and still receive his benefits or should I wait until I am older?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

If you claim any type of monthly benefits prior to your full retirement age they can be subject to full or partial withholding based on the Social Security earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html). So, your best filing strategy depends on the level of your earnings and the comparative benefit rates that you could receive on your own and your husband's record.

Your best strategy is likely one of the following:
1) File for reduced widow's benefits at age 60 or as soon as your earnings will permit at least some benefits to be paid, then switch to your own record at age 70; or,
2) File for reduced retirement benefits at age 62 or as soon as your earnings will permit at least some benefits to be paid, then file for unreduced widow's benefits at your full retirement age (FRA). However, if your husband received reduced retirement benefits prior to his death then it would likely be better to claim widow's benefits earlier than FRA.

Normally, you would want to start out drawing the lower benefit first and then switch to the higher record when it reaches it's highest potential rate. Our maximization software can sort all of this out for you and help you determine your optimal strategy.

Best, Jerry