My dad passed away at 59 and my mom is 57 – what Social Security benefits is she eligible for as a widow?

Social Security pays retirement benefits to millions of older Americans today. But those aren’t the only type of benefits the program pays.

Social Security also takes care of the spouses of recipients who pass away — and that extends to people who did not yet start receiving benefits because they died before they became eligible.

In this Reddit post, we have someone whose father passed away at the age of 59, which is too young to collect Social Security. Their mom is 57 years old and was potentially reliant on the father for income.

The mom was told that she couldn’t get her deceased spouse’s pension for a while. But the poster is wondering if she’s able to collect Social Security. And the answer is, she should be – but not right away.

How Social Security survivor benefits work

The nice thing about Social Security survivor benefits is that they can be worth 100% of what the original recipient was supposed to get. Spousal benefits, by contrast, max out at 50% of that amount.

What the poster here needs to know is that age 60 is the soonest their mom can sign up for Social Security survivor benefits. But they may want to encourage their mom to wait longer.

Based on the mom’s age, she won’t be entitled to her complete Social Security survivor benefits until age 67. That’s her full retirement age for Social Security purposes.

She can sign up at 60, or any time before 67, for a reduced benefit if she’s willing to accept it. But if she was reliant on the father for income, she may not want to slash her benefits permanently.

It’s important to know the rules

Social Security is a complex program. And Social Security survivor benefits have the potential to be even more complicated because they work differently than regular benefits.

For example, if you’re claiming Social Security on your own earnings record, you can’t start taking benefits at 60. The earliest age to sign up is 62. The same holds true for Social Security spousal benefits.

One thing the poster above may want to do is have their mom sit down with a financial advisor. It seems as though the mom has been through a financial shakeup as the result of her husband’s passing, and a professional may be able to better help her navigate that.

Plus, a financial advisor can explain the ins and outs of Social Security and help her understand what to do.

For example, it may be that the mom worked for a while and is entitled to a Social Security benefit of her own based on her earnings record. A financial advisor can help her sort through things so she’s able to secure the benefits she needs to cover her expenses without undue stress.

And if there’s a separate pension the mom is entitled to, a financial advisor can help her not only figure out what it entails, but put the money to good use once it becomes available to her.