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Widows, Widowers & Other Survivors Social Security benefit amounts for the surviving spouse by year of birth (Español)

Survivors Planner Home Your Survivors You as Survivor How to Apply Other Factors Benefit Calculators

The earliest a widow or widower can start receiving Social Security survivors benefits based on age will remain at age 60.

If you receive survivors benefits early As a general rule, early survivors benefits based on your age will give you about the same total Social Security survivors benefits over your lifetime, but in smaller amounts to take into account the longer period you will receive them. You can receive widows or widowers benefits based on your age at any time between age 60 and your full retirement age as a survivor. However, if you start at an earlier age, your survivors benefits are reduced a fraction of a percent for each month before your full retirement age. If you receive widow's or widower's benefits, and you will qualify for a retirement benefit that's more than your survivors benefit, you can switch to your own retirement benefit as early as age 62. The rules are complicated and vary depending on your situation, so talk to a Social Security representative about the options available to you.

About the chart The chart below lists full retirement ages for survivors based on year of birth. It includes examples of the age 62 survivors benefit based on an estimated monthly benefit of $1000 at full retirement age. Click on your year of birth to

Estimate Your Life Expectancy

find out how much your benefit will be reduced if you begin receiving survivors benefits between age 60 and full retirement age. Note: If your spouse started receiving retirement benefits before his or her full retirement age, we cannot pay you the full retirement age benefit amount on their record. The maximum survivors benefit is limited to what he or she would receive if they were still alive.

Year of

2.

Full (survivors) Retirement Age*

At age 62 a $1000 survivors benefit would be reduced to

Months between age 60 and full retirement age

65

$829

60

.475

1940

65 and 2 months

$825

62

.460

1941

65 and 4 months

$822

64

.445

1942

65 and 6 months

$819

66

.432

1943

65 and 8 months

$816

68

.419

1944

65 and 10 months

$813

70

.407

66

$810

72

.396

1957

66 and 2 months

$807

74

.385

1958

66 and 4 months

$805

76

.375

1959

66 and 6 months

$803

78

.365

1960

66 and 8 months

$801

80

.356

Birth

1.

1939 or earlier

1945--1956

Monthly % reduction

3.

1961

1962 and later

66 and 10 months

$798

82

.348

67

$796

84

.339

st

1. If you were born on January 1 of any year, you should refer to the previous year. 2. The $1000 benefit would be reduced to $715 for anyone who started receiving survivors benefits at age 60. 3. Monthly reduction percentages are approximate due to rounding. Your maximum benefit is limited to what your spouse would receive if he or she were still alive. Survivors benefits that start at age 60 are always reduced by 28.50%.

*Full retirement age may be different for retirement benefits.

How you can use this information Each survivor's situation is different. You cannot use the Retirement Estimator to determine benefit amounts for a surviving spouse. However, if you look at your own or your spouse's Social Security Statement, you will find an estimate of the survivors benefits that could be paid at full retirement age. If you don't have a Statement, but you know what the worker's yearly lifetime earnings were, you can use our Online Calculator to get a rough estimate of what the survivors benefits would be. If you know what the benefit is at full retirement age, you can use the information for your year of birth to find out how much the widows or widowers benefit would be at various ages.

Pros and Cons There are disadvantages and advantages to taking your survivors benefit before your full retirement age. The advantage is that you collect benefits for a longer period of time. The

disadvantage is that your survivors benefit may be reduced. Each person's situation is different, so make sure you talk to a Social Security representative before you decide to retire. [Return to top] Privacy Policy | Website Policies & Other Important Information | Site Map Last reviewed or modified Wednesday Mar 02, 2011

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