Need help understanding Surivor Benefit for my Mother in Law

[AndrewG315255]

My mother in law is a widower who turns 60 this month 2/21

Her Husband passed 7/2015 and he was born 10/27/1960

We called SSA and they told her she was eligible to claim SS against her passed husband for $2000 a month.

My mother in law currently works a full time job at $50k annually and doesn't want to stop it.

Sounds like the income restriction is $23,400

Here's where I'm confused...

If she continues to make 50k they only hold $1 for every $2, meaning she gets $24,000 a year from SS, and (50,000-23,400=26,600/2=13,300) and gets to keep $36,700 from her 50k job to total $60,700? That's question number 1, is my math right.

Question #2 is if they withold approximately $13,300 a year until she reaches FRA, will she ultimately ever get that money back? Or is that $13,300 a year they kept just gone.

[Tonster521]

@AndrewG315255 Here is the math. Your Mother in Law (MIL) keeps the $50,000 of Covered Earnings from her job. If she applies for Survivor Benefits, her $24,000 will be reduced to $10,700 ( $24,000 - $13,300). The combination will total $60,700. 

Answer #2, The SS Program will return any benefits withheld due to an Earnings reduction after FRA. or age 67. As fffred pointed out, it is not paid in a lump sum. If the return of benefits is important, I suggest she schedule an appointment at her local SS Office for a hypo estimate.Of course, the SSA cannot predict future Covered Earnings, an estimate will be used. BTW your MIL needs to file for Survivor Benefits in person. I do not believe she may file online. 

There are other factors to consider such as taxes (Federal, State, and Local, if applicable). Also, by continuing to work, will your MIL's Retirement/Old Age SS Benefit exceed her Survivor Benefit at age 67? 68? 69? or 70? It appears to me that if her Average Index Monthly Earnings (AIME) for the required 35 years hovers near $4,200 to $4,500, she will equal or exceed $2,000 or more especially if she receives Delayed Retirement Credits (DRC) for working,if needed, through ages 67 to 70. Hope this helps.

[GailL1]

Here is a publication from SSA which answers your questions with examples.  

SSA.gov - 2025 - How Work Affects Your Benefits 

It tells you how the benefits are reduced by the annual earnings test and how they are recalculated and paid out after reaching their full retirement age.

Like I said, it also gives some examples of how this works in both instances.  This should clear it up for you and give you a method for calculations now and when she reaches FRA.

The only thing that one may want to be concerned about is IF at her FRA her own benefit maybe greater than what she might be getting under the Survivors benefits - or maybe she would want to continue getting the Survivors benefits until age 70 allowing her own benefits to grow as much as possible with the Delayed Retirement Credits.

[fffred]

@AndrewG315255    Her widow’s benefit will be reduced if she takes prior to her FRA. Another option for her is to delay taking the survivor benefit until a later date when the benefit will be greater (not as much reduction before her FRA).

She could even take her survivor benefit when she wants to, stop working, and then let her own retirement benefit grow until her age 70.

there’s a couple recent threads about this with more information.

[AndrewG315255]

I appreciate the response, but that's not really the question I'm trying to get answered. We already know the amount today is 2000, and if she was to withdraw against his social at 67 it would be 2800. My question is centered more around taking this benefit while still working as a 60 year old and how the income limit impacts a person.

[fffred]

@AndrewG315255  From reviewing various publications, I don't believe that the benefits withheld due to excessive work income prior to FRA are returned to the beneficiary at a later date. In the sense that, say, $8,000 in benefits for 5 years ($40,000 total) is then going to be distributed back to the beneficiary in a lump sum or actuarially (annuitized).

However, the retirement benefits will be recalculated at (FRA) and it's likely that they will be increased due to the last work history.

AARP article describes this briefly https://www.aarp.org/retirement/social-security/info-2023/working-and-your-monthly-benefit.html