I am 59 this year. My husband died at 56 four years ago. I work full time. He made more than I do. Do I start to collect on his or mine when I reach 66. And then collect on mine or his at 70? After reading your book, I am afraid social security will get it wrong!

Hi,

You would never want to wait past full retirement age (FRA) to start widow's benefits. They do not accrue delayed retirement credits. If you were born in 1957, your FRA for widow's benefits is age 66 & 2 months. However, your FRA for benefits on your own account is age 66 & 6 months. Kind of silly, but the reason they are different has to do with when the laws were passed.

Depending on how much you are earning, your best strategy is probably one of the following:
1) File for widow's benefits as early as age 60, or 66 & 2 months at the latest, then switch to your own account at age 70; or,
2) File for benefits on your own account at age 62, then for widow's benefits at age 66 & 2 months.

In essence, you probably should save your highest possible benefit until last. If your own benefit will not exceed your age 66 & 2 month widow's benefit, even including the 28% bump you would get by waiting until age 70 to file, then you probably want to follow strategy 2 above. However, if your own would be higher at age 70, then you should probably follow strategy 1.

Whichever benefit you save for last, you want to maximize the amount you draw on the other account prior to switching benefits. If your earnings are not way over Social Security's exempt amount, which is $15,720 this year, then you should likely file on the lower record as soon as you're eligible (i.e. 60 for widow's benefits, or 62 for retirement benefits on your own).

If you haven't already done so, you may wish to run the maximization software available on this website. That should help you sort out your specific options, so that you can choose the best possible strategy.

Best, Jerry