Social Security Choices

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Widowed Persons Overview

If you are a surviving spouse or ex-spouse and you have not remarried, or you have remarried after age 60, you may be able to qualify for Social Security benefits on your deceased spouse's or ex-spouse's earnings record. The best way to determine whether you qualify for widow(er)'s benefits is to contact the SSA at 1-800-772-1213 or by visiting your local office.

Widow(er)'s benefits increase if you wait until you have reached your full retirement age before taking them. Even if you are eligible for a Social Security benefit on your own work record, there may be some advantages in taking the widow(er)'s benefit, either because it is larger than your own retirement benefit or because you might be able to get that benefit while you are delay your claim on your own retirement benefit and allow it to grow.

Our software will perform all these calculations for you and show you which benefits to claim and when to claim them in order to maximize your lifetime payments from Social Security. Our calculator can even provide guidance when you're already receiving either retirement or widow(er)'s benefits. For useful information about surviving spouses and Social Security, check out the links on the left side of this page, or, get your Social Security Widow(er)'s Benefit Analysis now. Get a complete customized report for $39.99.

Widowed Person