I just found out that I'm still married for46yrs. My husband passed in 2002. I'm 64yrs old. Are there to go back 10yrs for restorative pay for widows pensions.
Hi. Probably not. Since you are under full retirement age (FRA), you likely couldn't be paid widow's benefits for any months prior to the month that you apply for them. However, if your husband collected reduced Social Security retirement benefits prior to his death then it's possible that you could be paid up to 6 months prior to the month in which you file your application. However, there's not enough information in your question for me to know if you even meet the requirements for widow's benefits (https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/handbook/handbook.04/handbook-0401.html).
The only way that you could be eligible for more retroactive benefits than mentioned above is if you established a protective filing date with Social Security. For example, if you applied for Social Security retirement benefits in the past, that could be considered as a protective filing date for widow's benefits if you were eligible for widow's benefits at the time you filed the application.
In any case, the earliest that widow's can qualify for regular widow's benefits is age 60, unless they are disabled in which case they could qualify as early as age 50. Widow's can potentially qualify for mother's benefits at any age, though, if they have an eligible child in their care who is under age 16 or is disabled.
Aside from all of the above, it wouldn't necessarily be advantageous for you to claim retroactive benefits even if you could. Widow's benefits are reduced for age if you claim them prior to your FRA, so the earlier you claim them prior to FRA the lower your monthly benefit rate is likely to be. Your best strategy for claiming widow's benefits depends on numerous different factors, so you may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to fully compare and analyze all of your options so that you can determine your best strategy for maximizing your benefits.
Best, Jerry
