Understanding Social Security Survivors Benefits

Bob Greene talks with Jim Blankenship about survivor benefits and who is eligible for them.

A surviving spouse can receive up to 100% of the amount that the decedent either was receiving or, or could receive had that person survived.

If the surviving spouse remarries before age 60 , the survivor benefits on that earlier marriage are no longer available as long as that marriage continues.

Greene: There are opportunities to apply strategies for receiving one or the other benefit and then switching to your own benefit.

Jim , we often tell people the higher a wage earner to wait until age 70 to claim Social Security , which among other things, gives the survivor the highest possible benefit.

There's no no increase to the survivor benefit if you delayed filing past full retirement age.

Jim : Any changes that that could be coming up before the 2033 or 2035 Cliff that they talk about, any changes are likely to be pushed out to future generations just as they were in 1983 .

It's a it's a tremendous help to everyone who watches this this video and reads your article in retirement daily . Always enjoy educating folks on the the potential benefits that they can receive and look forward to talking to you again in the future..