When Should My Wife Claim Social Security? (Planning for Survivor Benefits)
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Dear Rusty: We could use guidance on optimum dates for my spouse to begin taking Social Security (SS). She doesn’t have enough work credits on her own, so she will be using mine for spousal benefits. I was born in 1955, and I now get $3,886 in monthly SS benefits. My wife was born in 1961. We currently receive about $50,000 per year in royalties and VA disability payments that will stop upon my death.
So, with that in mind, can you suggest optimum dates for my wife to claim, based on my projected death in early 2027 or early 2030? My wife is very healthy and will likely live beyond 2040. Of course no one can predict their own passing; these are just random dates I came up with based on probabilities with my health issues. Signed: Planning Ahead
Rusty’s answer in brief
When the husband expects to die within a few years and the wife is not working, she should probably claim her spouse benefit now. Claiming before her full retirement age of 67 reduces it, to about 42% of his full-retirement-age amount instead of 50%, but it will be replaced by her larger survivor benefit when he dies.
The survivor benefit is based on 100% of what he is receiving at his death ($3,886 a month now, plus future COLAs), reduced only if she claims it before 67. With an average life expectancy of about 87, she would likely collect that survivor benefit for 20 years or more.
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.