Social Security Claiming Strategies for Widows and Widowers

Abstract

This study presents rules governing survivor benefits and provides several cases to illustrate these rules. It then presents guidelines to help financial advisors quickly determine the best strategy for a widow or widower who is eligible for survivor benefits. The authors present separate advice for four groups of clients who differ in terms of the age of the surviving spouse. In addition, they present examples that illustrate the logic of the recommended strategies for each group of survivors. As seen in several examples, there are many times when a widow or widower should not simply take the larger of his or her own retirement benefit or his or her survivor benefits.