This podcast focuses on maximizing benefits for married couples, survivor benefits and understanding the “widow limit”.
This recording presents the viewpoints of the AMAC Foundation’s Social Security Advisory Staff, trained and accredited under the National Social Security Advisors program of the National Social Security Association, LLC (NSSA). NSSA and the AMAC Foundation are not affiliated with or endorsed by the United States Government, the Social Security Administration, or any other state government. To request additional information, contact our Advisory Staff at 888-750-2622, or email us at SSAdvisor@AmacFoundation.org.
1) I am 64 yr old widow, can I file on my own SS benefits and then switch to my survivor benefit at my husband’s retirement age. His full retirement age would be 66.2 mine will be 66.6 so will I be able to switch at 66.2 or do I have to wait till I am 66.6.
2) What is the Widow’s Limit.
Rosemary,
Yes, you can claim your own SS retirement benefit first and allow your survivor benefit from your deceased husband grow to maximum. You do not need to wait until your deceased husband’s full retirement age (FRA) to claim his full benefit, but you do need to wait until your own “widow’s FRA” to get 100% of the benefit your husband was receiving when he died. If you were 64 in 2021, your “widow’s FRA” is 66 years and 2 months old (a widow’s FRA can be less than your normal FRA), and that is the point you would get 100% of your late husband’s SS benefit. If you claim your survivor benefit at any time before your “widow’s FRA” it will be less than 100% of your husband’s benefit when he died.
The so-called “widow’s limit” refers to a situation where your late husband may have claimed his benefits early, thus having a reduced benefit amount for claiming before his FRA. The “widow’s limit” sets a minimum survivor benefit for you by stipulating that your survivor benefit, if taken at your FRA, can be no less than 82.5% of the benefit your husband was entitled to at his full retirement age, even though he actually claimed earlier.
Rosemary, I hope this answers your questions, but please don’t hesitate to contact us at SSAdvisor@amacfoundationo.org if you have any further questions.
Russell Gloor
National Social Security Advisor
The AMAC Foundation
Hello, My mother, age 86, started receiving death benefts from her husband in March 2020. He passed in 1979. The SSA told her she needed to provide proof of marriage or they would discontinue the benefit. She lost all of her papers in Hurricane Sandy and cannot prove her marriage. SSA has now stated she was overpaid and they will recover $265,000!!?? Is there any resource that can help us understand this? Thank you
Steven,
Did your mother remarry before she was 60 years old, and remain married? If so, she isn’t entitled to a survivor benefit from her previous husband if she was still married when she applied for her survivor benefit in 2020.
If she didn’t remarry, your mother must prove her marriage to her husband lasted for at least 9 months to avoid the need to repay those survivor benefits. Even though her papers were destroyed, she should be able to get another copy of her marriage certificate by contacting the Department of Health in the State she was married in. For example, if your mother was married in NJ, she should use this website to order a copy of her marriage certificate: https://www.nj.gov/health/vital/order-vital/non-genealogical-records/. All states provide a similar service to obtain copies of legal documents, so if your mother was married in another state, simply search for the Dept. of Health for that state and locate the “Vital Records” section to obtain a copy.
Again if your mother didn’t remarry before she was 60, she should file form SSA-561 – Request for Reconsideration to establish that she does not agree she was overpaid benefits because she was legally married to her husband for XX years. She may also consider asking for a waiver of the overpayment, and information about how to do that may be found here: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ssa-632.html. Note that she will need to establish very good reasons for a waiver to be granted, or she can appeal on the basis she cannot afford to repay it, as is specified in the instructions for same.
If you have any further questions, please email us at ssadvisor@amacfoundation.org, or call us at 1.888.750.2622.
Russell Gloor
National Social Security Advisor
The AMAC Foundation
I will 62 in February 2026 and a (16 year) federal FERS employee. I have earned enough credits to qualify for social security benefits. I’m looking for information about how the pension will affect my social security. Will they deduct 2/3 of my social security payment due to the pension (windfall elimination provision)? Will a second pension, from a previous employer, reduce that amount again by 2/3 or will it be included together with the FERS pension? TSP should all be in a ROTH by FRA 67. I also have a question about collecting my spouse’s benefits. She has been gone for 10 years now and if I start the claim can it be paused if, which will probably be the case, I am currently making too much income? Is there a benefit to doing that now? I can pause it and resume it when I want to take it? Can the death benefit be cancelled completely if I am earning too much? I’m learning what I can and not sure I’m even asking what I need to ask.
Hi Anthony,
As a FERS retiree, your federal pension will not affect your Social Security benefit at all. Federal employees covered under the FERS retirement program paid into Social Security while working and, thus, their federal earnings are included when determining that person’s Social Security Benefit. FYI, the “Windfall Elimination Provision” (or WEP) was repealed in early 2025 by H.R. 82 – The Social Security Fairness Act, so even older federal employees covered under the old CSRS retirement program are no longer affected by WEP. Neither are FERS retirees, so your Social Security benefit payment will not be at all affected by your federal pension. Nor will your “second pension” affect your Social Security benefit payment.
Regarding your potential Social Security benefit as a surviving spouse, you can collect that after you reach age 62, but if you do and you are still working, you will be subject to Social Security’s Annual Earnings Test (AET) which limits how much you can earn while collecting early SS benefits. When you apply for survivor benefits you will be asked about your estimated work earnings, and if you will exceed the annual limit ($24,4480 in 2026), Social Security will withhold paying your benefits for as long as necessary to avoid overpaying you. Thereafter they will pay your monthly survivor benefit for the remainder of the months of the year. But if your estimated work earnings significantly exceed the annual limit, SS will likely tell you that you are temporarily ineligible to receive your survivor benefits (until you either earn less, or reach your full retirement age of 67). When you apply, Social Security will work with you, take your estimated annual earnings into consideration, and pay your monthly benefits accordingly.
Anthony, i hope this answers your questions, but please know we are always here if you have more questions. To contact us directly, you can send an email to SSadvisor@amacfoundation.org, or you can call us directly during normal EST business hours at 1.888.750.2622.
Russell Gloor
Certified Social Security Advisor
The AMAC Foundation
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