Larry,

Thanks for the great service you are providing in maintaining this website.
I am 70 and took reduced benefits of approximately $1750/mo. at age 64. My wife of 7 years just turned 60 but has never worked or paid money into Social Security. Can she begin to draw Soc Sec benefits at age 62 based upon my earnings? Would her benefit be 50% of my $1750 less some additional reduction for taking the benefits before her full retirement age?
I want to know what happens on my death. How is her survivors benefit calculated? What is the maximum she can receive?

Thanks, Marshall

Hi Marshall, You can run different scenarios in our software involving you dying a different ages of death, which we call maximum ages of death and you'll see what your wife will get in spousal benefits and then in widows benefits. If she take her spousal benefit starting at 62, it will be half of your full retirement benefit times .75 (the reduction factor for taking it early). If you die and she takes her widows benefit early (before full retirement age), a complex formula applies, called the RIBLIM formula. It applies because you took your own retirement benefit early. You'll want to read my co-authored book, Get What's Yours -- the Revised Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security, as well as run the program to understand and also see the dollar impact of taking her widows benefit starting at different ages before full retirement. Under the RIBLIM formula, there reaches a point where waiting any longer produces no higher widows benefit. But where that point is depends on the case at hand.

best, Larry