Why Switching From Spousal to Survivor Benefits Adds $1,224 a Month for the Rest of a Widow’s Life

For many retirees, Social Security benefits are one of their most important sources of income. But these benefits can be pretty complicated, and many people don’t have a clear understanding of how they work. This is especially true in situations where you are married and may be entitled not just to your own benefits but also to benefits based on your spouse’s work history as well. 

In some situations, for example, a switch from spousal to survivor benefits could lead to a substantially larger payment. Here’s how this could happen, and why it may occur. 

Why survivor benefits could provide much more money than Social Security spousal benefits

Both spousal benefits and Social Security survivor benefits are available based on a spouse’s work history.  Specifically:

• Spousal benefits allow you to collect up to 50% of your spouse’s primary insurance amount (PIA) or standard Social Security benefit
• Survivor benefits allow you to collect up to 100% of your deceased spouse’s PIA or 100% of the claimed amount if your spouse had already started their benefits before passing away. 

Obviously, this means survivor benefits can be much larger than the spousal benefits you were collecting while your spouse was alive.

For example, if your spouse’s PIA was $2,448, your maximum spousal benefit at your full retirement age would generally be $1,224 per month. But if your spouse dies, then your survivor benefit could increase to as much as $2,448 per month if you claim survivor benefits at your survivor full retirement age. That’s $1,224 per month extra for life.

Form SSA-10 allows you to claim survivor benefits when your husband or wife passes, so make sure you understand and fulfill the requirements to apply for benefits. 

While survivor benefits are higher, your household income may be lower

It’s important to note that while your survivor benefits may be higher than the spousal benefits you collected while your husband or wife was alive, this does not mean your total household income will be higher after the death of a spouse.

If your husband or wife was already collecting Social Security benefits and you were also collecting spousal or retirement benefits, you had two Social Security checks coming into the home. The death of your spouse means their benefits stop.  This can mean a drastic decline in combined Social Security benefits because you now have one Social Security check coming instead of two.

The effects of this can be especially pronounced if you and your spouse had similar incomes and were receiving a similar amount of monthly benefits, because you won’t see a dramatic increase in your own check by switching to survivor benefits in this scenario.

You need to make sure your financial plans are solid, even after your spouse dies. Having the higher-earning spouse wait as long as possible to claim their own benefit in order to increase survivor benefits is one possible way to do that.

You should talk with an experienced financial advisor about your options for retirement planning in a way that helps you to remain financially secure even if your spouse passes away before you.