Latest News
Surviving Spouse and Social Security - The Motley Fool
Surviving Spouse and Social Security
It’s difficult to acknowledge that one spouse usually outlives the other, but it’s hard to make important decisions when that time comes. One of the decisions you will have to make is when to start your survivor benefits, if you are eligible. The surviving spouse only receives the highest benefit available; if you were both eligible for your own benefits, the smallest benefit will end.
Can you afford to live on just the one Social Security benefit? When the higher-benefit earner is considering starting benefits, they need to consider the surviving spouse. Regardless of which spouse is the survivor, only the highest benefit is kept. A common strategy to maximize the survivor benefit is for the lower-earning spouse to start benefits first, allowing the higher-earning spouse to delay and maximize their benefit.
While you must be 62 to receive your retirement benefit, you only have to be 60 (50 if disabled) to receive a survivor benefit. However, any time you start any benefit early, you will be subject to a permanent reduction. If you start your survivor benefit at age 60 (50 if disabled), you will only receive 71.5% your deceased spouse’s benefit.
Trevor Jennewine has written an article about what happens to your social security when a spouse passes away. To read the full article, click here …
Surviving spouses have a choice on when to start their survivor benefit, especially when they haven’t started receiving their own benefits yet. Make sure you know what they are by speaking with a Social Security Advisor. You can speak with an accredited AMAC Foundation Social Security Advisor by calling (888) 750-2622. Or you can email your questions to ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org.
This posting is presented for informational purposes only and does not represent legal or financial guidance. Any opinions or interpretations presented are either those of the original author or, in the case of articles authored by the AMAC Foundation, are the opinions of AMAC Foundation staff, originally trained and accredited by the National Social Security Association (NSSA) and certified via the AMAC Foundation. Any links included in the article are valid on the posted date; socialsecurityreport.org cannot guarantee the duration of the links’ validity. NSSA and the AMAC Foundation and its staff are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any other governmental entity. To submit a question, visit our website (https://amacfoundation.org/services/) or email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org. Because we are a non-profit organization, there is no charge for these services.