You may be eligible for survivor benefits as well as benefits earned from your own work record. The rules that apply when choosing between the two can be confusing.

Both spouses must meet the age requirements to receive a monthly benefit. If a worker elects early retirement benefits at age 62, and his spouse is age 55, she would have to wait until age 62 to begin receiving benefits (or age 60 if her husband dies).

As noted above, in the event of a worker’s death, the surviving spouse must be at least age 60 to receive survivor’s benefits (or earlier if the survivor is disabled or caring for minor children of the deceased). If the surviving spouse is only age 55 at the time of the worker’s death (and not disabled or caring for minor children of the deceased), she must wait until age 60 to qualify for survivor’s benefits (although his children under age 19 may qualify directly). At age 60, the surviving spouse could begin receiving surviving benefits (unless he or she remarried).

Such survivor benefits are permanently reduced for age. To receive the full amount of the deceased spouse’s benefit, the survivor would have to wait until she attained full retirement age (age 65 for people born in 1937 or earlier).

If you elect to receive survivor’s benefits, you may elect to take you own benefit when you attain early retirement age (62) or full retirement age (age 65 for people born in 1937 or earlier) based on your own work and earnings if it would result in a higher monthly benefit.

Where both spouses worked and both are receiving retirement benefits one spouse dies, the survivor would be eligible for whichever benefit is greater.

A different set of rules apply when one spouse worked outside the home and other did not (or on a very limited basis). If both spouses were at least age 65 when the worker spouse began receiving full retirement benefits, the non-working spouse would receive a benefit equal to one-half of the working spouse’s benefit.

If the working spouse then dies, the surviving spouse receives the deceased spouses full benefit and must relinquish her one-half benefit.

In the event of the death of a spouse where both are older than the full retirement age (65 if born in 1937 or earlier) and each are receiving their own monthly benefit based on their own work history, the survivor is entitled to the higher benefit (not both) upon the death of their spouse.

REMARRIAGE

Generally, you will not be eligible for Social Security survivor benefits if you remarry prior to age 60. After age 60, or age 50 if disabled, remarriage will not terminate survivor benefits on your late spouse’s record. Keep in mind that if you remarry on or after attaining age 62, you may be eligible for a different, and possibly higher, benefit on the account of your new spouse.