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The rules are the same for an ex spouse and current spouse when it comes to survivor .
Unlike spousal benefits , survivor has two moving target amounts depending on who took what and when .
Depending on when the deceased filed and the survivor filed different base amounts are used .
As an example , if the deceased filed pre fra for social security and the survivor filed early , it is NOT based on what the deceased got .
to avoid double cuts where the deceased filed pre fra and the survivor files pre fra there is what is known as the widows floor …
That is a reduction off of fra and it avoids getting a steeper double cut when filing early is involved.
The deceased may be getting a reduced benefit because they filed early , but the widows floor is based on the fra amount not what the deceased was getting when the deceased filed for social security pre fra
The chart above reflects the widows floor as it is called , if they file pre fra.
So we can have a few different scenarios.
We can have have a situation where the deceased waited to file until fra and the survivor waited until fra .
In that case survivor is the same as the deceased got .
Then another where the deceased filed pre fra for social security and the survivor filed pre fra .
In that case the amount is based on the survivor fra less the widow floor deduction
Then we have the deceased filed after fra or has delayed credits and the survivor filed for survivor pre fra
The one case I am not 100% sure of is the last .
But , I think if the deceased has delayed credits because they filed after their fra and the survivor filed earlier then fra for survivor they get the widow floor reduction above off of the actual amount including delayed credits , but I have not seen any example on line of that situation but I believe that is how it works in that situation .
The fra amount is used when the deceased filed early and the delayed credits are used as the base amount if the deceased had delayed credits
Survivors also have the option of letting their own grow to 70 and taking survivor now if their own will be bigger
For purposes of chatting on CD (not being a financial services rep or a SS rep., etc.) I should have said "approximately 75%" from my recollection of looking it up 15 years ago...
The table from the SS site now looks like this:
Year of Birth 1. Full (survivors) Retirement Age 2. At age 62 a $1000 survivors benefit would be reduced to 3. Months between age 60 and full retirement age Monthly % reduction 4.
1939 or earlier 65 $829 60 .475
1940 65 and 2 months $825 62 .460
1941 65 and 4 months $822 64 .445
1942 65 and 6 months $819 66 .432
1943 65 and 8 months $816 68 .419
1944 65 and 10 months $813 70 .407
1945 - 1956 66 $810 72 .396
1957 66 and 2 months $807 74 .385
1958 66 and 4 months $805 76 .375
1959 66 and 6 months $803 78 .365
1960 66 and 8 months $801 80 .356
1961 66 and 10 months $798 82 .348
1962 and later 67 $796 84 .339
If the survivor was born on January 1 of any year, use the information for the previous year.
If someone was born on the 1st of the month, we figure the benefit (and the full retirement age) as if their birthday was in the previous month.
Note: The full retirement age may be different for retirement benefits.
The $1,000 benefit would be reduced to $715 for anyone who started receiving survivors benefits at age 60.
Monthly reduction percentages are approximate due to rounding. The maximum benefit is limited to what the worker would receive if they were still alive. Survivors benefits that start at age 60 are always reduced by 28.5 percent.
She'd qualify as a widow if her ex is deceased as early as 60 (for 75% of his benefit).
You should not care what your ex is qualified to receive on your account as it has Zero effect on you.
As a general statement what you posted means nothing .
The op never even stated an age .
When you say benefit , what benefit are you even referring to ?
What constitutes a benefit amount varies depending on when the deceased filed for ss and the age the survivor files .
Are you referring to what they got as a payment ?
If the survivor is filing at 60 that is not the amount used to calculate from UNLESS there are delayed credits involved on the deceased .
Is it their fra amount ? If the survivor is Under fra , and there are no delayed credits involved by the deceased then that is what is used
So saying their benefit without stating what benefit is used doesn’t mean a thing.
The deceased may have filed early for their ss and that is what their benefit was …however what a survivor who files pre their fra gets is not based on what the deceased got , it is based on the deceased fra amount regardless of when the deceased filed….
The survivor only gets what the deceased benefit was if the survivor is fra ….then they get what the deceased was getting including any delayed credits .
However if the deceased filed after their fra for ss and has delayed credits , and the survivor files at 60 they then are based on what the deceased got including all delayed credits but are reduced by the chart amounts as well …
So depending on the situation of ages when everyone filed or died the BENEFIT AMOUNT IS DIFFERENT that those reductions are based on
So the answer is far more complex then your statement above , it wasn’t you just had the reduction amount wrong.
Simply saying their benefit has no meaning because what constitutes a BENEFIT AMOUNT for purposes of a base amount varies depending on situation and age
Last edited by mathjak107; 03-01-2022 at 03:17 AM..
Your statement was flat out wrong as it is a sliding chart and not 75% of what the deceased benefit was .
The deceased may have filed early for their ss and that is what their benefit was …however what a survivor who file pre their fra is not based on what they got , it is based on their fra regardless when they filed
Whatever MathJak. Your chart is out of date. I don't think anyone chatting on CD is using as their ultimate source of anything other than a jumping off point for further research. When are you posting your Portfolio? Or, I guess as you are timing the market madly making adjustments day by day it's not so easy to post it. Are you sure you're the right one for giving SS advice to the majority of people considering you took it early at a dramatically reduced benefit amount? Most people should hold off until 67-70.
Last edited by Wile E. Coyote; 03-01-2022 at 03:08 AM..
Whatever MathJak. Your chart is out of date. I don't think anyone chatting on CD is using as their ultimate source of anything other than a jumping off point for further research. When are you posting your Portfolio? Or, I guess as you are timing the market madly making adjustments day by day it's not so easy to post it. Are you sure you're the right one for giving SS advice to the majority of people considering you took it early at a dramatically reduced benefit amount? Most people should hold off until 67-70.
When am I posting my portfolio ? I did over and over in appropriate discussions.
When am I posting my portfolio ? I did over and over in appropriate discussions.
I was just trying to ruffle your tail feathers. Yes, I was wrong about 75% at 60. I was wrong to go off my memory without looking it up. Money can never be a casual conversation while MathJak is lurking around every corner. It must be serious and very precise. Your chart does not include people for whom the FRA is 67 (which is a lot of people believe it or not).
I was just trying to ruffle your tail feathers. Yes, I was wrong about 75% at 60. I was wrong to go off my memory without looking it up. Money can never be a casual conversation while MathJak is lurking around every corner. It must be serious and very precise. Your chart does not include people for whom the FRA is 67 (which is a lot of people believe it or not).
Yes , things you post need to be correct , not precise .
People here run with that information to learn , so incorrect information just thrown out only confuses people .
Correct my chart, AS I stated was for those who had fra as 66 since without the op stating an age I am not posting every chart …,you do realize your numbers you posted are the same for a 66 fra .
The chart i used is an example of the widows floor
I was just trying to ruffle your tail feathers. Yes, I was wrong about 75% at 60. I was wrong to go off my memory without looking it up. Money can never be a casual conversation while MathJak is lurking around every corner. It must be serious and very precise. Your chart does not include people for whom the FRA is 67 (which is a lot of people believe it or not).
Yes , things you post need to be correct , not precise .
Stating something like BENEFIT as a term means nothing ..,there are 3 different benefits the deceased can have .
They can have taken early ss and had a reduced benefit ,they could have their fra benefit ,or they can have a benefit that includes delayed credits .
A survivors amount is based on all three depending on situations and ages
People here run with that information to learn , so incorrect information just thrown out only confuses people .
Correct ,my chart i stated was for those who had fra as 66 since without the op stating an age I am not posting every chart …,you do realize your numbers you posted are the same .
66 as fra is a huge group born between 1943 and 1954
Are you sure you're the right one for giving SS advice to the majority of people considering you took it early at a dramatically reduced benefit amount? Most people should hold off until 67-70.
I don’t tell others when they should take ss because there is no one size fits all answer .
I took mine at 65 since the few things I do in retirement that pay me had me earning to much to file earlier .
So let me get this straight , you know everyone’s situation and have determined most should delay.? Even though most retire pre fra and need the money?
Or like in our case we were laying out the ss we weren’t getting and spending money that no longer could be compounding and growing ? Plus until I filed my wife couldn’t get a 4500 a year spousal benefit .
So no , delaying is not best for everyone , which is why relatively few wait until 70.
Most who delay to 70 are those who don’t need the money and can afford to layout the ss they are not getting or they have other income supporting them
I don’t tell others when they should take ss because there is no one size fits all answer .
I took mine at 65 since the few things I do in retirement that pay me had me earning to much to file earlier .
So let me get this straight , you know everyone’s situation and have determined most should delay.? Even though most retire pre fra and need the money?
Or like in our case we were laying out the ss we weren’t getting and spending money that no longer could be compounding and growing ? Plus until I filed my wife couldn’t get a 4500 a year spousal benefit .
So no , delaying is not best for everyone , which is why relatively few wait until 70.
Most who delay to 70 are those who don’t need the money and can afford to layout the ss they are not getting or they have other income supporting them
Mathjak, I am just ruffling your feathers. You take money too seriously. Of course everyone is different.
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