I’m a 59-year-old man planning to retire at 60 and claim survivor benefits from my late wife. I'll only get $1,200/month and don’t want to burn through my small nest egg — is it too risky?

He doesn’t mention having any debt, and we’ll assume his “small” nest egg is worth a few hundred thousand dollars. While he sounds willing to make a few withdrawals from his nest egg if he has to over the next few years — most 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs) allow you to make penalty-free withdrawals when you turn 59½ — he’s trying not to burn through it before he reaches his full retirement age.

That means he’ll have to live lean until he turns 67 — so is it worth it?

How survivor benefits work

As a surviving spouse, you may be able to claim survivors benefits early and then claim your own retirement benefit at a later date. “Your surviving spouse can get reduced benefits as early as age 60. If your surviving spouse has a disability, benefits can begin as early as age 50,” according to the Social Security Administration. You can only collect one benefit at a time: either your own Social Security benefit or your survivors benefit. You can claim both, but you will only receive whichever is higher.

As a widower, you’d be eligible for the survivors benefit if you’re 60 or older (or, if you’re disabled, 50 or older), were married for at least nine months before your spouse's death and didn’t remarry before age 60. You’d also be eligible at any age and regardless of how long you were married if you’re caring for your late spouse’s child or children under the age of 16 (or any children who are disabled). Even if you were divorced, it may still be possible to claim the benefit.

Eligibility depends on the number of credits your late spouse had accumulated during their lifetime and the age they passed away. In 2024, workers receive one credit for every $1,730 they earn, up to a total of four credits per year. Typically, it takes about 10 years of paying Social Security taxes to qualify. The amount of the benefit is based on what your late spouse would have received at their full retirement age.

If you claim the survivors benefit at FRA, you’d get 100% of the benefit. If you claim it early, between age 60 and your FRA, you’d receive between 71.5% to 99% of the full amount, depending on how early you claim it. If you’re already receiving your own retirement benefit, you can only apply for the survivors benefit if your current benefit is a lesser amount.

So, if this 59-year-old man claims the survivors benefit from his late wife when he turns 60, he’d get a reduced benefit. However, since his own retirement benefit will be much higher, it makes sense to wait until his FRA to receive his full benefit — or even until age 70, when he’d receive a permanent monthly bump. There’s no penalty to making the switch, and his own retirement benefit won’t be reduced if he takes the survivors benefit early.

Considering the pros and cons

The widower may be better off if he takes a reduced survivors benefit until he reaches FRA. But, if he ends up taking income from his investments — say, for an unexpected expense — that could push him into a higher income tax bracket. It’s also worth noting that a portion of the survivors benefits may be taxable depending on the recipient's income.

If he has private health insurance — or if he’s able to qualify for Medicaid — that could help tide him over until he can claim Medicare at age 65. But he’ll want to make sure he has an emergency fund with enough cash set aside for any unexpected expenses so he doesn’t end up draining his nest egg.

Living off $1,200 a month could require living lean for a few years — though he may consider it a worthwhile trade-off if he no longer has any interest in his full-time job. However, he could also consider looking for part-time work that is more fulfilling to bring in a bit of extra cash each month.

While he might not be thinking about “starting over” just yet, if he does eventually decide to remarry, that likely won’t be an issue: In most cases, remarriage after 60 (or 50, if you have a disability) won’t prevent you from getting your survivors benefit. There’s a lot to consider, so surviving spouses may want to contact the SSA to figure out which benefit to take first and when.