collecting social security when death is near

[WW393731]

family member, 66 years, is not yet collecting social security, recently diagnosed with lung cancer and more...my hunch is start collecting NOW ASAP even if it is only a short time  Any thoughts on this?

[GailL1]

@WW393731 

Really sorry to hear about this.  

At 66 they are really close to their Full Retirement age so it may be easier to get Retirement   

SSA.gov-What is your Full Retirement Age  

However, Disability benefits would yield their FULL benefit without any deduction for taking it early and depending upon their stage of the cancer and its prognosis, they might be able to be approved for  Disability within a few weeks. Just depends on when they discovered the culprit - early or late stage.

EDITED TO ADD:  However on the other side of the coin, getting Retirement doesn’t have a wait period but Disability does - 5 months - unless the condition is ALS or ESRD .  So maybe just take the lesser amount Retirement and forget the wait period if they are that close in their full retirement age.

The SSA’s Compassionate Allowance list would tell the beneficiary how the stage and prognosis is covered.  NON-Small Cell Lung Cancer and Small Cell Lung Cance are two of the varieties. If the prognosis is terminal then it is an easy and quick process to get Disability benefits and like I said that would be their full benefits.  

SSA.gov Compassionate Allowance - Lung Cancer - NSCLC  

SSA.gov-Compassionate Allowance - Small Cell Lung Cancer 

Otherwise, Retirement benefits will be reduced but not by much since they are so close to their Full Retirement Age.

They can apply for either one on line but if doing a Disability claim - the more detailed info on all the medical stuff is a great benefit - doctors , treatments, state and prognosis - Their main oncologist can give them a statement too on their condition for the SSA and the Disability claim.

Either way, they should go ahead and file for benefits - actually they can file for both at the same time.  

[WW393731]

I think the disability ploy only comes in if employed or within a small timeframe after retiring.  It has been over 2 years since retiring.

[GailL1]

@WW393731 

It actually isn’t a ploy IF one qualifies for both - it is a strategy that can be used when applying for Social Security benefits - Retirement benefits and Disability benefits and one meets the qualifications for both.  The SSA just processes the applications - 1st for Retirement if at least 62 years of age.  A reduced Retirement benefit is began.

The SSDI claim continues in the works - although if a diagnosis is terminal - or it is listed on the Compassionate Allowance list - the claim is rushed thru -  Then when it is approved, the 5-month wait period begins but in the meantime, the beneficiary is still getting the reduced Retirement benefits for taking this benefit early.  

At the end of the 5 month SSDI wait period, the benefits are switched from the Old Age (reduced) Retirement benefit to the SSDI benefit.  The SSDI benefit represents the WHOLE benefit a person would get if they had waited for Retirement to their full retirement age - so it is more - how much more depends on the specifics.

At the time of the switch, the beneficiary would be paid the differential between what they were paid under the reduced retirement benefit and the new SSDI amount back to the date of SSDI application.   Then the  new SSDI amount would carry forward until the beneficiary reaches their full retirement age and the benefit just changes names from SSDI to Social Security Retirement.  

There is a minor adjustment made to the SSDI benefit for receiving the Old Age Retirement in the interim but it is minor depending on the amount of the difference.

Yes, each case is different based on the situation but it could be done.

Yes, there is a time period when a beneficiary has not worked for a very long time where they may be vested in the Social Security Retirement benefit but because they haven’t worked in a long time their SSDi benefit has become obsolete.  The rule is that half of the  earned credits must be within the last 10 years ending with the year your disability begins (people age 31 and older).

Yes, it is true that you cannot get both at the same time. 

SSA.gov - HLP-ISBA085-DISAB5 - Receiving Reduced Retirement Benefits While Waiting For Your Disabili... 

National Council on Aging 08/21/2025 -ARTICLE- Can You Get Both Supplemental Security Disability Inc... 

I do not know all the specifics of your family member and their Social Security benefits - just thought I would throw this out there as a possibility because the SSDI benefit would yield a higher amount - but how much higher since they are so close to their full retirement age, I don’t know - it maybe very minimal.  Only running the actual numbers would indicate any benefit in doing this.

If they have been deemed as terminal and the compassionate allowance is in play, their SSDI benefit should be approved in very short time - perhaps in a couple of weeks.  It is that 5-month SSDI wait period that makes this hard however, IF they are approved for SSDI with a back date of disability, then that also counts against this 5-month wait period for SSDI so they could get it sooner.

Yes, they do need to go ahead and file for their benefits especially if death is imminent.  Either Retirement or SSDI or both at the same time.  I am sure any added income will come in handy at this most difficult time.

In May 2005, my husband filed for SSDI due to a late stage , advancing cancer listed on the Compassionate Allowance list - it was approved the next week and then the 5-month wait period began since his was a new diagnosis in March 2005.  He was not old enough for any Retirement benefits (58) so his SSDI began for the month of October (paid in November)  - he died the following March 2006.  It did help out for those few months.  

AARP - 12/12/2025 - ARTICLE - Can I receive Social Security retirement and disability benefits simul... 

Hope in some small way, this helps.