My husband died suddenly last year — can I now collect his Social Security and my own at the same time?
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Janice’s husband suddenly died after stroke last year. The couple were a few years away from retirement. 62 -year -old Janice was waiting to demand social security at the age of 65, which he was entitled to Medicare.
His late husband made more money during his career, so he would get a greater social security retirement assistance. Now he is wondering whether he can gather both retirement allowance and at the same time.
Short answer no. However, a more detailed look at which social security advantages you deserve after your spouse died.
The main types of social security payments are retirement, disability and the benefits of survivors.
Pension benefits include both retired workers’ benefits and spouse benefits. A married pair of retirement age is suitable for two controls from the Social Security Administration (SSA):
If both joints work, two retired workers are advantages or
A retired worker advantage and a co -advantage for a spouse who does not have retired workers’ assistance
The benefit of a spouse may be 50% of the primary insurance amount of a retired worker (PIA), which is the monthly benefit they are entitled to full retirement age. If the employee spouses die, the benefit of the spouse can be changed with the benefits of survivor.
If you are a survivor, like Janice, you can request your retired worker assistance or your late spouse if it is higher.
According to the National Social Insurance Academy, this can significantly reduce the income of a surviving spouse, because if their spouses were alive, they will only be able to collect them if they were alive.
The amount of Janice will rely on the late husband’s work record and whether it has reached a full retirement age of usually between 66 and 67 years of age.
If a surviving wife already benefits according to their own business records, they should contact SSA to find out if they can get more money than collecting surviving advantages.
According to SSA, about 5.8 million Americans took the benefit of Survivor in July.
If you are the wife, ex -wife or child of someone who works and pays social security taxes before you die, you may be suitable for the benefits of survivors. In general, to be appropriate, you must be 60 or larger than a disabled person in seven years of the death of your spouse or at least 50 years old.
In some cases age does not matter. If you care about children from marriage under the age of 16 or under the age of 16, you can also apply for survival aids independent of age.
Another factor is your current marital status. If you marry before the age of 60 (or if you have a disability), you are no longer suitable for the benefits of survivors. Restoring after the age of 60 does not affect your suitability.
Since Janice is not ready to retire, it may continue to work while receiving survival help before reaching its full retirement age, but if it exceeds the earning limit of 23,400 dollars for 2025, its benefit may be reduced.
If your spouse dies, you should contact SSA immediately. You will receive a $ 255 bulk payment payment and you can also discuss your options for the next steps. For example, you can start with Survivor advantages, and then you can move on to your 70 -year -old retired worker advantage if this payment is highest.
There are many factors to consider, so it may be worth sitting with a professional financial advisor to break numbers.
Advisor.com can help Connect you with a financial consultant that suits your needs and based on your region. All consultants Previously VETEDIn other words, it has a legal obligation to act in your benefit.
The average social security advantage was $ 1,863,12 in July. According to the 2024 report of the US Office of Statistics, the average monthly expenditures for American consumers were $ 6,440.
Unfortunately, this means that there is an inequality as to what one takes as a benefit and what they need to survive. Having a solid nest egg for retirement may work.
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