I am about to be 62 in one month, and I’ve been receiving survivor’s benefits since I was age 60. ( I was married to my ex spouse, who was murdered at age 55, about 15 years after our divorce, and who was not yet receiving any type of SS. He and I both never remarried, although he lived with a woman for many years in a common law marriage state —- she is now claiming that she is his legal wife. ) At age 62, in a month, SSA told me I would be eligible for reduced SS benefits on my own earnings, which are higher than my deceased ex husband’s earnings. I am TRYING to wait until I am closer to my full retirement age to take my own full retirement benefits at age 66.5. But I’m wondering if there will be a slight increase in my survivor’s benefits when I hit age 62 simply because my own social security will be higher at that age? Also, I’ve filed for, but have not yet received ( and may never receive ) SSDI in my own earnings record. I’m retired from the educational field and receive a pension. I also paid into SSA all of my working life ( over 40 years of work). Right now I do a little part time work, less than 10 hours a week, so the earnings test is not relevant, Will my check for survivors payments increase next month ( orvtge month after) when I become age 62, even if I do not file for my own reduced SS benefits...simply because my own SSA benefits, even at a reduced rate, would be higher than my ex’s survivor’s benefits?
Hi,
No, other than cost of living increases (COLA), your survivor benefits won't increase at age 62 or any subsequent age unless some of your benefits are withheld because of the Social Security earnings test (https://www.ssa.gov/planners/retire/whileworking.html). The reduction for age that applies when you start drawing benefits early is permanent as long as you're paid all of your reduced benefits. Still, though, it sounds like your best filing strategy would almost certainly be to wait until age 70 to switch to your own record, since your own rate will continue to grow until then as long as you delay switching to your own account.
If your claim for Social Security disability (SSDI) benefits is approved you'll receive your full primary insurance amount (PIA), which is equal to the amount of your Social Security retirement rate if you started drawing at full retirement age (FRA). However, that will offset your survivor benefits dollar for dollar. Therefore, if your SSDI is higher than your survivor benefits, your survivor benefits will stop when you start drawing SSDI.
If you are approved for SSDI you could suspend your benefits when they convert to regular retirement benefits at FRA in order to earn delayed retirement credits (DRC), but you could not then go back to drawing survivor benefits while your own benefits are suspended. You may want to strongly consider using our software (https://maximizemysocialsecurity.com/purchase) to help you determine your best long term strategy for claiming your own benefits.
Best, Jerry
