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I really am not going to do away with him, but I remember reading that when I turn 65, I will be eligible to receive my husband’s full Social Security payment. Is this true? In addition to my own? If this is true, should anything happen, that would mean I can stay in the house, keep my pets, etc. I know, this sounds like a heartless question and I certainly am not chafing at the bit for widowhood, but it would be a comfort to know if this is possible.

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but the checks are retroactive, so they don't really take one back, you just don't get the next one
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Also if a person getting SS and dies before the end of the month, SS will take last month's payment back from the recipient. And give you(spouse or family $250 for funeral cost. So like in the recipient gets $1000 a month SS will take that payment back if the recipient dies any days before the last day of the month. Which is not fair to the family. It causes financial grief. Especially when that month's check is already spent on bills and groceries. It's mandatory to pay SS back. It's shouldn't be their money to take back. Then they turn around and give you $250 for funeral expenses which is not enough to cover anything. I would rather they not take last month's ss from the recipient's estate and SS can keep the $250.
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Ahmijoy:

You will be able to receive your husband's FULL SS benefit in the amount he collected at the time of his death.

But yes, as others stated you will have to drop one, most likely yours, if your SS is lower than your husband's full payment.

You wrote: [" Thanks, everyone. It doesn’t seem fair that I’d have to tank my SS since it’s MINE, but Hubby’s is more than twice mine. I’m already collecting on his." ]

It does seem unfair given that widows who never worked still get the husbands full payment at his death.

While women who worked lose theirs, if they collect their husband's benefit.

That does seem unfair for women who worked and paid their own earnings into SS.
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Well, heavens, z I'm thinking waiting until full age is best... my soouses is $2400. mine $895.... No brainer
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Can I just say why it’s so important for woman to receive equal pay - because as we age it so obviously affects us!
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so did my friend, but that's not to say what will happen when she turns 65
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I started getting Social Security Widows benefits when I turned 60.
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I believe this is true ONLY if your hubster is deceased. That said: BEST location for answers is at SS. I find my local office people are full of information, and very helpful. Call for an appointment.
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There is a lot of misinformation here. Desert192 gave the best information. Your benefits depend on your work history and the age at which you decide to begin receiving benefits. Also, you cannot get benefits on your spouse's work record until that spouse also begins receiving benefits. I know of a couple in which the wife started taking benefits on her own record at age 62. Her full retirement age (FRA) benefit was about $1,000, so she received about $750 at age 62. Her husband is only a few months older, but is choosing to delay benefits until age 70 to get a higher amount. His FRA benefit is about $2,500. When he reached FRA, he was able to get a small spousal benefit on the wife's record. In this case, he was able to get about $500, which is half of the wife's FRA benefit. (This provision only applies to people who turned 62 before a certain date, which can be found on the SS website.) When the husband switches to benefits on his own work record at age 70, he will get about $3,330, which is an increase of 8% over his FRA benefit for each of the four years that he delays benefits. The wife will then be getting about $938, which is one half of the husband's FRA benefit, reduced by 25% because she started benefits at age 62. If the husband predeceases the wife, her benefit will become the $3,330 that he was currently receiving. The terminology that SS uses is that the wife's benefit is supplemented by the difference between hers and his, not that she gets his instead of hers. I agree that a visit to your local SS office to get the figures for your particular situation would be helpful.
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The way it was explained to me - My husbands social was higher than mine (he is deceased) I took mine at 62 (reduced benefit) - when I reach my full retirement age (66) I will essentially switch to his amount (it's actually my reduced benefit + the difference in that figure and what his social was = the amount of his social as his was higher). I also understand law changed a year or two ago - so IF you took spousal - 1/2 of his - before reaching full retirement age - your benefit would be forever reduced (you would get his higher amount minus the percentage for filing early).
So if you have social yourself - take that 1st (restricted to your own benefit amount - do not include spousal) - then when you reach full retirement (if he is deceased - or if he's still alive whenever he passes) you will get "step-up to the higher amount (not 2 social security checks combined)
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Thanks, everyone. It doesn’t seem fair that I’d have to tank my SS since it’s MINE, but Hubby’s is more than twice mine. I’m already collecting on his. I agree that I need to go to the local office (and hopefully I won’t encounter the agent who told me once when I called that “You’re getting all from us that you’re going to get!”) or go online.
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Yes, a surviving wife can receive her deceased husbands FULL SS check. She just cannot have his AND hers
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Yes, when Dad passed Mom was able to elect to receive his higher amount. It's one or the other.
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I have never heard of anyone receiving the husbands full benefits. You are able to collect half his benefits as soon as you reach the required age now with no need to wait for his passing. Both my sisters are receiving half their husbands benefits since that amount is greater than their own amounts. But to my knowledge, this will never increase after the spouses pass. You need to contact Social Security with your questions.

So many rules have changed. I didn't know about the above because I started collecting before my sisters. I did it online and now I advise everyone to make an appointment with their social security office. You are even allowed to take half of your husbands allotment and allow yours to continue increasing/growing.

Make the appointment and go down and learn all you are eligible for. I wish someone had told me to do that.
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I just went with my mom to the SS office yesterday, so I'll tell you her situation. She's been getting SS benefits since she hit retirement age in 2001- my dad was already drawing SS then. She claimed on my dad's SS and she received about $50 more a month then she would have gotten with just her own - she was 63, so she would have gotten more if she'd waited til 65. My dad got his own amount and she got her own amount.
My dad passed away this past January, so now my mom will get his entire amount, monthly. She won't get hers, plus his - just his. But this is good because, his was about a thousand dollars more a month than hers.
You won't get your husband's SS, but you can claim SS once you hit 65, on his. he'll get his, and you will get yours.
I would definitely go to the SSA website and read up on the benefits. I do know, though, that you only get yours until he dies and then you should be eligible to draw his (only).
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Are you collecting yours yet?

My husband was collecting at the time I started at 62. Neither one of us waited till full SS which was 66 for us being born in 47 & 49. My husband was getting 1500 I was getting 750 which was already half of his. If he had gotten 2000 they would have brought mine up to 1000 half of his. There is a little more to this but basically when your husband passes, your SS will drop, if it's the lesser amount, and you will get your husbands, if his is the higher. If you pass before him, he keeps the higher SS and the lower drops. You cannot get two SS checks. I think you r smart to look ahead. Then u can plan for the future. Statistics say woman will live longer.
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From what I understand and I am going through this with my parents as my dad doesn't have a lot of time left, when a spouse dies, the surviving spouse can get ONE of the two social securities. In my moms case she would choose my dads as it is a lot bigger. My mom never worked very much as she was a homemaker, housewife type so her SS is pretty small, and she really wont be missing much by giving that up.

So you CAN get your hsubands, SS, but NOT in addition to your own. You will have to choose one.
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There are too many missing pieces of info for you to get an accurate response. The website socialsecurity.gov has lots of information on it. Alternatively, you can call the hotline at 800-772-1213. I would urge you to inquire about an appointment for your local office (if that is doable) where you can ask all of your questions.
Widows do not receive both social security payments, just the higher of the two.
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