My ex husband passed away in 2016. He was born in 1944 I was born in 1955 we were married for 19 years. I never remarried. Social security mailed me a benefit matrix of how much I would receive. I wanted to start my benefits in January 2021.the amount on the matrix shows $1847 at full retirement 7 2021. I also called a few months ago and was told the amount would be around $1900 I made a appointment to sign and was told the amount would be $1590' how can this be should I have signed up sooner. I am still working but would like to retire or cut back on hours.

Hi,

The optimal point in time for you to have filed for survivor benefits depends on your own potential benefit rate as compared to your potential survivor rate, and the amount that you've been earning per year. I have no idea why you were quoted different benefit amounts, but your best filing strategy is almost certainly one of the following options:
1) File for reduced survivor benefits now 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 on your own record now or as soon as your earnings will permit at least some benefits to be paid, then file for unreduced widow's benefits at full retirement age (FRA).

However, if your ex-husband collected reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to his death that could affect your optimal strategy. If your ex did start collecting his Social Security benefits prior to FRA, your survivor rate would be limited to no more than the higher of a) his reduced benefit rate, or b) 82.5% of his primary insurance amount (PIA).

Normally, the best strategy for someone in your situation would be to start out drawing the lower of their 2 potential benefits as soon as possible, then switch to the higher benefit when it reaches it's highest potential rate. Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) could help you sort all of this out so that you can determine the best strategy for maximizing your benefits.

Best, Jerry