I am 57 and a widow. I'm considering remarrying in 2018. My future husband is a civil service retiree and does not receive social security. I did not work outside of the home thus my ss benefit is minimal. If after my remarriage, my second husband passes away, can I receive a widow's benefit at my full retirement age? Would I have a penalty because of my remarriage?

Hi,

My husband passed in 2004 at age of 48. I am not 61, can I apply for SS from him?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

In addition to the other requirements, unless you have an eligible child in your care you would need to be at least age 60, or at least age 50 and disabled in order to qualify for widow's benefits (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html).

My husband passed away April 2014. I was not working at the time. I called Social Security the day after his passing to ask about receiving widows benefits and was told I was not qualified. I went into the Social Security office August 2016 to inquire about my own SS benefits because I was going to turn 65 the following Nov and also inquired again about my widows benefits, I still was not working, they said I was not eligible.

Hi Larry, thanks in advance for your assistance. I'm asking this question on behalf of my parents, unmarried. My dad, age 65, is eligible for social security, but my mom, age 63, is not (she doesn't have enough SS credits). What must my mom do in order to get survivor's benefit in case my dad passes away? There is no common law marriage in NY state, so even though they've lived together for decades, they're unmarried. If they get married and stay married 9 months, will that alone make my mom eligible for survivor benefits down the road? Thank you very much.

Does Social Security hide any benefits for Widows

Hi,

I don't believe that Social Security intentionally hides any types of benefits from people, but the filing options and entitlement requirements can be extremely confusing. Our software may be able to help you sort out your benefit and filing options. You may also want to check out the information available on Social Security's website regarding widow's benefits: https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou2.html.

Dear Larry:

My husband (deceased) passed away before collecting his ss (58). The last statement I received from ss showed what he would have received at his retirement age of 65. this amount is equal to what I will collect (from my statements) at FRA of 66. What if any widow's benefit would I receive from his SS?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

My husband was on SSDI April 2006 at age 56 and passed away Oct. 2011 at age 61. He worked for 32 years and his last income was at 99,000/year. I started collecting survivors benefit when I retired at age 60 after working for 32 years. My last income was 68,000/ year. Can I suspend this benefit until I am 70 1/2 years old to get a full benefit from him?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

I became disabled in 2015 and my husband died in Dec 2013, he would have been 65 in June of this year 2017 Can I draw his benefits, He was qualified to draw?

Hi,

I'm sorry for your loss.

If you are at least age 50 and disabled or at least age 60, then it sounds like you could potentially qualify for widow's benefits. Depending on your own work history you may also have other filing options available to you, so you may want to consider using the maximization software available on this website to determine your best filing strategy.

Let's say you are receiving SS benefits then you got married, and then he passed away if God willing. Now after his passing away can you choose to get his SS Benefits specially your SS Benefit is lot smaller? Do you have to be married for 10 years to get entitled for it if it allows you for it? Or it doesn't matter so long that you were married?

Hi,