This is an archival or historical document and may not reflect current policies or procedures.

Your Full Retirement Age For Survivors Benefits Is 65 And 6 Months

Remember, the earliest a widow or widower can start receiving Social Security survivors benefits based on age will remain age 60.

If you start receiving survivors benefits at age

  • 60, you will get 71.5% of the monthly benefit because you will be getting benefits for an additional 66 months.
  • 62, you will get 81.9% of the monthly benefit because you will be getting benefits for an additional 42 months.

Note: If you're receiving widows, widowers, or divorced widows or widowers benefits, you can switch to your own retirement benefit as early as age 62.

Reminder: Your full retirement age for retirement benefits may not match your full retirement age for survivors benefits.

How Your Social Security Survivors Benefit is Reduced

If you start getting benefits at age1.

The survivors benefit you will receive is reduced to2. 

60   71.5%
60 + 1 month 71.9
60 + 2 months 72.4
60 + 3 months 72.8
60 + 4 months 73.2
60 + 5 months 73.7
60 + 6 months 74.1
60 + 7 months 74.5
60 + 8 months 75.0
60 + 9 months 75.4
60 + 10 months 75.8
60 + 11 months 76.3
61 76.7
61 + 1 month 77.1
61 + 2 months 77.5
61 + 3 months 78.0
61 + 4 months 78.4
61 + 5 months 78.8
61 + 6 months 79.3
61 + 7 months 79.7
61 + 8 months 80.1
61 + 9 months 80.6
61 + 10 months 81.0
61 + 11 months 81.4
62 81.9
62 + 1 month 82.3
62 + 2 months 82.7
62 + 3 months 83.2
62 + 4 months 83.6
62 + 5 months 84.0
62 + 6 months 84.5
62 + 7 months 84.9
62 + 8 months 85.3
62 + 9 months 85.8
62 + 10 months 86.2
62 + 11 months 86.6
63 87.0
63 + 1 month 87.5
63 + 2 months 87.9
63 + 3 months 88.3
63 + 4 months 88.8
63 + 5 months 89.2
63 + 6 months 89.6
63 + 7 months 90.1
63 + 8 months 90.5
63 + 9 months 90.9
63 + 10 months 91.4
63 + 11 months 91.8
64 92.2
64 + 1 month 92.7
64 + 2 months 93.1
64 + 3 months 93.5
64 + 4 months 94.0
64 + 5 months 94.4
64 + 6 months 94.8
64 + 7 months 95.3
64 + 8 months 95.7
64 + 9 months 96.1
64 + 10 months 96.5
64 + 11 months 97.0
65 97.4
65 + 1 month 97.8
65 + 2 months 98.3
65 + 3 months 98.7
65 + 4 months 99.1
65 + 5 months 99.6
65 + 6 months 2. 100.
  1. If your birthday is on the 1st of the month, we figure your benefit as if your birthday were in the previous month.
  2. If your spouse started receiving retirement benefits before their full retirement age, we cannot pay you the full retirement age benefit amount from his or her record. The maximum survivors benefit is limited to what he or she would receive if they were still alive.

Click here for a chart of survivors retirement benefits and reductions based on different years of birth.

Full retirement age goes from 65 to.... 66.... 67