But isn’t it true that a wife would have to wait till they are of retirement age before they could collect on their husbands SS benefits?
For example if the wife is 20 something years younger then the husband and he kicks the bucket at say, 60 yrs old ... would she have to wait till she is 65 to be able to get any benefit ... or since the husband kicked off before retirement age, the 40 yrs old house wife is SOL?
I’m not a Social Security expert but I’m pretty sure a surviving spouse can collect on her husband’s Social Security benefits at any age. It is reduced if she claims them before she is herself of full retirement age, but she will get something.