I usually avoid participating in these Social Security threads because it is so darn complicated and everyone's situation is different. But I'll give you a place to start reading and just a few comments.
You are eligible for a Social Security survivor benefit as long as you have been married for at least nine months. Learn how it works and how it may help you.
www.thebalance.com
You are talking about full retirement age (FRA). But it's not nearly so simple as that. Your FRA is not the same thing as your Survivor FRA. Survivor FRA uses a different birth table than FRA. It is very possible that your Survivor FRA will be different than your FRA.
You will find the Survivor FRA table at
https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/survivorchartred.html
Without getting into the specifics of your situation, here is the advice I have left for my wife (or, at least, this is how I understand things,
but remember that I am a mere mortal and it is possible that I have misinterpreted the rules despite my very best efforts). I am currently 65 and she is 64. Her Survivor FRA (based on her birthday) is 66. I am the higher earner and I have not yet taken my Social Security benefit since I am hoping to wait until it maximizes at 70.
- If I die before 70 (which means I have likely not yet started my own benefit), she should take her own benefit until she reaches her Survivor FRA because that will allow the survivor benefit to grow. (Taking the survivor benefit prior to Survivor FRA will reduce it.) Once she is at or beyond her Survivor FRA, she should then switch to my benefit if it higher than her benefit (which is likely) because the survivor benefit does not grow once the survivor is past their own Survivor FRA. If she switches to my benefit, she should receive the amount I would have received as of the date of my death.
- If I die after 70, she should immediately switch to my benefit if it is greater than her own.
Also, I suggest you look at
https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/ifyou.html. Notice this very important paragraph:
We should be notified as soon as possible when a person dies. However, you cannot report a death or apply for survivors benefits online. In most cases, the funeral home will report the person’s death to us. You should give the funeral home the deceased person’s Social Security number if you want them to make the report.
So this means that if I were to die, my wife will likely need to go in to our local Social Security office. And I think if she does that, she will be able to request the actual dollar figures so that she can compare the amount of her benefit to mine.
