Ask Larry

My husband passed away in 2012 at the age of 61 ... i now am living of my husbands pension ..i also have been working since i was 16 and putting into Social security..i am now 65 and I retired after my husband passed away .. what i would like to know is this ....can i also go ahead and collect on my Social Security for all those years that i put into it .....and still collect on my husbands pension ? I worked very hard for all those years to not be able to collect on my Social Security that I Have contributed to ..
Thank You Sincerely Barbara

Hi Barbara,

I'm sorry for your loss.

You can't receive both a full widow's benefit and your own retirement benefits at the same time. If you filed now for your retirement benefits you would only receive the higher of that benefit or your widow's rate.

The only way that you would likely benefit by filing on your own record is if that benefit is higher than your widow's rate. And if it is, it would probably be most advantageous for you to wait until age 70 to switch to your own record. The maximization software available on this website should be able to help you determine your best course of action.

Best, Jerry