should i take widows benefits at 60?

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By Rilwan Abdullahi

Social Security: What Every Woman Needs to Know

When do I become eligible for benefits?

  • As a worker: You must work and pay Social Security taxes for at least 10 years (40 quarters), and be at least 62 years old.
  • As a spouse or divorced spouse: You must be at least 62 years old. If you are divorced, you must have been married to your ex-spouse for at least 10 years and currently be unmarried.
  • As a widow: You must be at least 60 years old (unless you are disabled in which case you can claim your benefit as early as age 50). If you are divorced, you can claim the survivors benefit if you were married at least 10 years and are currently unmarried (unless you remarried after age 60).

If I qualify for more than one benefit, can I receive the total amount of both?

No. You will receive the benefit amount that will provide you with the larger monthly benefit, but not both benefits combined.

When can I receive Social Security retirement benefits?

At “full retirement age,” you may be eligible for full benefits. For individuals born in 1960 or after, the full retirement age steadily rises until it reaches 67. Look at the graph below.

Year of Birth Full Retirement Age
1937 or earlier 65
1938 65 and 2 months
1939 65 and 4 months
1940 65 and 6 months
1941 65 and 8 months
1942 65 and 10 months
1943-1954 66
1955 66 and 2 months
1956 66 and 4 months
1957 66 and 6 months
1958 66 and 8 months
1959 66 and 10 months
1960 or later 67

What happens to my benefit if I claim early?

If you begin receiving benefits early, your benefits will be permanently decreased. For each month you begin Social Security before reaching full retirement age, your payout is decreased by about half a percent. For instance, if your full retirement age is 67 and you enroll in Social Security at the age of 62, you will only receive 70% of your full income.

What happens to my benefit if I delay claiming it?

If you wait until you reach full retirement age to start receiving benefits, you can raise the amount you receive by 8% each year. The increase is effective from the age of full retirement until the age of 70. No extra delayed credits will be awarded once you reach the age of 70, therefore you should definitely claim your reward by then.

Can I work and still receive my Social Security benefit?

You can work and collect a Social Security retirement or survivor benefit. If you claim your benefit before reaching full retirement age and earn more than the yearly earnings limit set by Social Security, your payout will be reduced. For example, if you are under the age of full retirement for the entire year, Social Security will withhold $1 from your benefit payments for every $2 you earn over the yearly maximum (which is $18,960 in 2020).

However, this is only a temporary benefit cut; once you reach full retirement age, your benefit will be increased to account for benefits withheld owing to earlier earnings. If you claim your benefit at full retirement age or later and continue to work, your benefit will be unaffected, regardless of how much money you make.

What kind of Social Security benefit can I receive if I am a widow?

If your spouse (or previous spouse) dies and is qualified for Social Security payments, you may be eligible for a survivor’s benefit. To receive the full Social Security income, you must be single and have achieved full retirement age (although you can start receiving reduced benefits at age 60, or age 50 if you are incapacitated) (unless you remarried after age 60). If you are raising your late spouse’s under-16-year-old child(ren), you may be eligible for survivor benefits, regardless of your age. If they are unmarried and still in high school, these children receive benefits in their own names from the age of 16 to 19.

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