Quote:
Originally Posted by bsloan1960
Thank you. So your answers prompt this next question. If you can only select ONE SS check, what is the Duel Enrollment that is being discussed?
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A widow (or widower) walks into the SS office to apply for benefits. They are eligible for survivor benefits from their deceased spouse and their own benefits.
What this thread is about
:
- The SS office enrolls them for both (dual enrollment)
- They collect on the one that pays more
The problem: By enrolling them in both, their benefits are "locked" at their current age which might be less than full retirement age. This means their benefits are locked in at a lower amount than what they could be getting.
A better approach:
- The SS office enrolls them for survivor benefits
- Their own benefits continue to increase as they reach full retirement age or older
- At some point they enroll for their own benefits when their benefits exceed the survivor benefits
By "dual enrolling" at an early age they lock in an amount for their benefits which will never increase. By enrolling in only the survivor benefits they receive a check now but can later switch to their own benefits if those become larger than the survivor benefits.
At least that's what I understood the article to be about.