Q&A: Does drawing Social Security early reduce survivor benefit?

Q: My spouse has been on disability since 2006. He turned 65 in December 2015. I will be 62 in March of this year. If I draw my own Social Security at age 62; if my spouse dies after I turn 66 (full retirement age) will I get 100% of what he gets in Social Security at his death? Does my drawing on my own Social Security early reduce my survival benefit? 

– Ann Moore

A: So, if you take your own Social Security at 62 with the reduced payment, and are later widowed, your own early payment reduction will not carry over to the widow’s payment, says Andy Landis, author of Social Security: The Inside Story, 2016 Edition.

“However, if you draw the widow’s payment before your own full benefit age, the widow’s payment would be reduced to your then-current age,” he says. “The full benefit age for widow’s payments is different from your full retirement age for other payments.”

If you wait until your full benefit age, Landis says you would get a 100% widow’s payment, equal to your husband’s disability payment. See Social Security Benefit Amounts for The Surviving Spouse By Year Of Birth, https://www.ssa.gov/planners/survivors/survivorchartred.html.

Robert Powell is editor of Retirement Weekly, contributes regularly to USA TODAY, The Wall Street Journal and MarketWatch. Got questions about money? Emailrpowell@allthingsretirement.com.