Hi Larry,

I’m a 56-year-old widower – had been married for 23 years -- and trying to determine the financial cost of getting re-married before I turn 60.

My plan was to begin collecting at age 60 my widower benefit. It would be about $2,000 a month before it’s reduced by 28.5 percent because I’m claiming early, yielding about $1,400. (Is this correct?) Then, at age 70, I would claim my own benefit, which will be higher – about $2,900 per month.

I’m self-employed and expect that some (most?) of the widower benefit would be lost to the earning’s test – my average annual social security earnings are about $40,000. I understand that lost benefits are eventually reclaimed, but I don’t understand how, and if it would really apply to me, or help me.

THANKS so much.

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

You're correct about how your widower's rate would be computed. If your widower's rate at your full retirement age (FRA) would be $2000, your reduced rate if you start at age 60 would be 28.5% less, or $1430. But, if you remarry before age 60 you wouldn't be able to draw any widower's benefits as long as your remarriage continues.

Let's say you don't remarry and file for widower's benefits at age 60 with a benefit rate of $1430, and you continue working and earn $40,000 per year. Prior to the year in which you reach FRA, Social Security would withhold $1 of your benefits for each $2 that your earnings exceed each year's earnings test exempt amount. In 2019 the exempt amount is $17,640, so if you were drawing benefits in 2019 and earned $40,000 Social Security would need to withhold $11,180 of your benefits for the year (I.e. ($40000-$17640)/2). That would require withholding close to 8 months of benefits If your monthly rate is $1430.

So, if everything stays roughly the same with regard to the earnings test exempt amounts and your yearly earnings until you reach FRA, you could probably expect to receive roughly 1/3rd of your widower's benefits prior to FRA after the earnings test withholdings. For sake of an example, lets be optimistic and say that you end up receiving half of your widower's benefits between age 60 and FRA. In that case Social Security would adjust your widower's rate at FRA to remove half of the rate reduction that you took to start your benefits at age 60. So, if your unreduced widower's rate is $2000 and your age 60 rate $1430, your adjusted rate at FRA would then be $1715. You could then draw that rate until you switch to your own higher retirement benefit rate at age 70. Social Security doesn't return any of the benefits lost to the earnings test, other than by way of adjusting your benefit rate upward at FRA.

Obviously, it's impossible to be precise in predicting variables such as your future annual earnings and the future earnings test exempt amounts. Therefore, there's no way to precisely calculate how much you'd likely lose in Social Security benefits if you remarry prior to age 60. However, our software could do all of the math for you based on an unlimited number of what-if scenarios, which should allow you to sort out your various options and enable you to make the best possible choice for your future.

Best, Jerry