Hello, my husband (age 67 and 6 months) recently passed away (2 months ago) and he had started receiving his SS at his FRA (born 1955). I had planned to not apply for my SS benefit until age 70 (my birth year is 1955) as my benefit will be larger so we wanted to allow it to grow. As a widow not receiving my own benefit am I eligible for any type of benefit under my husband's credits? Thank you

Hi. I'm sorry for your loss. Yes, it sounds as though you'd likely qualify for widow's benefits. If your husband's full benefit rate was lower than your own benefit rate will be, your best strategy would almost certainly be to claim widow's benefits as early as possible and then switch to your own benefits at age 70. Since you're apparently over your full retirement age (FRA), you should be able to claim your widow's benefits effective with the month of your husband's death as long as you apply within 6 months of the month in which he died.

There is also a one-time death benefit of $255 for which you'd likely qualify. You can apply for that benefit at the same time you apply for widow's benefits. You'll need to contact Social Security to apply for survivor benefits, which you can do by calling their toll free number 800-772-1213.

Our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) is excellent at determining the optimal filing strategy for people in your situation, so you may want to first consider using our software to make sure you choose the best possible filing strategy.

Best, Jerry