I retired from the Railroad in 2004. My wife died in 2019 at age 75. Can I receive Spousal Benefits from the SSA or the RRB?

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. My expertise is limited to Social Security (SS) benefits, not Railroad Retirement (RR) benefits. What I can tell you is that if your wife was insured for SS benefits and assuming that you're at least age 60 or at least age 50 and disabled, then you could likely qualify for widower's benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA).

However, if you start collecting SS benefits and if you're also collecting RR benefits then the Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) will offset your Tier 1 RR benefit dollar for dollar by the amount of your SS benefit. Therefore, it's generally only advantageous for a RR annuitant to apply for SS benefits if their SS benefit rate would be higher than their Tier 1 RR benefit amount.

Best, Jerry