Surviving spouse - what are her options in these situations?

@HarlanM149937 

That's a good point regarding temporarily halting SS benefits upon the death of the primary spouse (the one on whom spousal and survivor benefits are based).

The answer is a qualified "yes" (but possibly not for your wife's case based on your discussion). 

SS recipients who have their own work record and can receive a benefit based on their own record can elect to stay or postpone either the benefit based on their own record or their survivor (widow/widower) benefit. This requires submitting form SSA-4411.

   (Let me add a minor point for reference: when a spouse has their own SS work history then applies for spousal benefit their monthly benefit is taken as that based on their own work history; if the spousal benefit based on the primary account is greater then the spouse will get their own benefit plus the additional amount to make up to the full spousal benefit. This point can get glossed over at times but it can come into play in this matter of the survivor's benefit.)

But spouses who do not have their own SS retirement benefit (from not working or working where they're not covered by SS) and are currently collecting the spousal benefit do not have the option to put the survivor benefit on "hold". The spousal benefit will automatically be converted to the survivor benefit. If the spouse (without their own benefit) is not collecting spousal benefits then they can simply elect to wait until their FRA in order to collect their full benefit (which is what the primary earner was collecting, including any delayed retirement credits).

I studied this point carefully over a number of years as my wife falls into the latter category, she does not have her own work history. And she is 11 years younger than me so I checked a number of different SS rules and scenarios to make certain she would not be a pauper if I predecease her.

There is a lengthier, detailed discussion of your question in this forum thread, https://community.aarp.org/t5/Social-Security/Survivor-benefits/m-p/2523584

I have some other comments on related issues that I'll try to answer later. Suffice to say, if your wife/widow collects survivor benefits prior to her FRA her benefit will be reduced, similar to the way that spousal benefits are so reduced (although the reduction factors are different) BUT the reduction factor is based on the survivor's age at which they collect such benefits, the reduction is not based on the spouse's age when they initially took spousal (or their own) benefits. 

So if a wife (or husband) is younger than FRA, collecting spousal at, say, age 62, but then the primary passes a few years later, when the spouse is, say, age 66, then the benefit reduction factor is based on age 66, not on age 62. 

With your DRCs it can even turn out that they will counteract the reduction factor so the survivor can get a pretty healthy benefit. This is the gist of the other comments I may make, I actually crunched the numbers for my situation: my DRC is 1.32 (4 years), at age 61 (we plan for wife to take spousal at 62) her survivor benefit is reduced by 0.24429, but coupled with my own 1.32 DRC her survivor benefit at age 61 would be (1 - 0.24429) * (1,32) * (my PIA), or about 99.75% of my PIA (it only goes up from there if I die at a later year). Which is pretty comforting to me.    (well, maybe there's no need for my proposed additional reply. haha)   

To clarify, the reduction factor for my wife will change with each year (month) of her age, but my DRCs stay constant. Thus her survivor benefit will increase each year as a percentage of my actual benefit.

Edit to add: now if I can only hold on for another 7 years until wife reaches her FRA then she will get my full benefit, unreduced. Gotta keep going!

@fffred Based on Harlan's questions, it is a two (2) year period unless he is planning to delay starting SS Benefits past age 70. As you know, there is no financial benefit for delaying past age 70. It is not clear if Harlan is asking about Spousal Benefits, Survivor Benefits, or both. Because he did indicate "her benefit amount" if he started receiving payments now (February 2024), I used a hypo $1,800 SS Benefit at FRA. We do not know their birth dates. I used February 1956 for Harlan (age 68) and February 1960 for his spouse (age 64). Because Harlan attained FRA at age 66 years 4 months, he has accrued 20 months of Delayed Retirement Credits (DRC) or about $240 per month. His SS Benefit is $1,800 + $240 or $2,040 per month. Because he starts his SS Benefits now, his spouse may start Spousal  Benefits now based on Harlan's PIA at FRA or $1,800 reduced by 50% and an early reduction of 25% (36 months X .69444) or $675 per month. So, Harlan and spouse are eligible now for $2,715 per month or $32,580 for one year and $65,160 for two years. If we looked back to the point in time when Harlan attained FRA, the amount will be greater than $65,160. Remember, they are collecting zero currently and need to live at least average life expectancy or longer to recoup the amounts they elected to delay. Hopefully, this will work out for them. This is why I suggested they schedule an appointment with a SS Representative and obtain accurate SS Benefit amounts.