If I die (God forbid) will my wife get a death benefit? For how long? Does it matter if I am 60 or 70?
Your wife can apply for the spousal benefit if you die first and she doesn’t collect to later. It doesn’t matter if you’re already collecting. What matters if you’ve already paid into the system and if it’d be more beneficial to use your spousal benefit vs her own. SS folks will do that math for you (her).
IIRC, a surviving spouse can choose whichever SS account is the highest. If you receive X amount, and she receives 2X, and she passes, you can receive her SS income. IIRC.
It is my understanding that your wife will collect your social security when you die when she reaches full retirement age which is 66 or so. She just needs to file. She should get Medicare too.
There are even a few traditional single-income families, or those in which the (usually female) spouse earns far less, where the spousal benefit comes into the equation (being half of the earner’s benefit).
Or double-income couples could split the strategy. Lots of variables.
My wife died of cancer-related complications in February. The SSA told me (and sent the earnings tables to prove it) that I could draw her SS benefits when I turn 60, based on what she could have drawn if she had lived to retire at 62. The amount would increase the longer I wait. When I reach my own retirement threshold, I have a choice to make: continue or take hers (if I waited) or take my own...whichever is higher. You cannot have both.
The kicker: my working income will be capped at $24k (rounding off) per year if I take her SS benefits. Not a good deal for me right now, until I at least get debt-free.