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Social Security Claiming Strategy Question: Restricted Application

By Dustin Smith, CFP® posted 01-09-2015 18:39

  
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet found a clear confirmation that a widow/widower is entitled to the delayed retirement credits (delaying beyond Full Retirement Age) of a deceased spouse, even if the deceased spouse had not yet initiated benefits.  I believe the answer to be yes, but I would like to find a clear confirmation from a reliable source or the social security website.  It’s an important assumption in a claim now, claim more later "restricted application" strategy, when the higher earner decides to restrict his application to a spousal benefit (at Full Retirement Age), in order to earn delayed credits on his/her own record. If the higher earner dies after initiating a spousal benefit but before initiating his/her own benefit, is the widow/widower entitled to the delayed retirement credits the deceased spouse earned by delaying?
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