Industry story
Widow's Benefits, the Earnings Test, and the 'Big Beautiful Bill' Explained
retirement-income social-security tax-planning
Two separate Social Security rules are in play here, and mixing them up is an expensive mistake. If this nurse claims her widow's benefit before her full retirement age of 67, she loses roughly 20% of it permanently, and on top of that the annual earnings test claws back $1 for every $2 she earns above $24,480 in 2026. The "One Big Beautiful Bill" that's circulating in the conversation is something else entirely: a $6,000 federal income tax deduction for people 65 and older, meant to soften the tax bite on Social Security income, set to expire after 2028 unless Congress acts. Russell Gloor at the AMAC Foundation puts it plainly: wait until 67, then compare the widow's benefit against her own nursing career benefit before choosing which to take.
Full analysis
A woman in her early 60s who is widowed, still working as a nurse, and weighing when to claim Social Security faces two separate rules that her mother confused. First, the annual earnings test: if she claims widow's benefits before her full retirement age of 67, Social Security will reduce her benefit by $1 for every $2 she earns above the 2026 limit of $24,480. On top of that, claiming the widow's benefit at 62 rather than 67 would permanently cut it by about 20%. Both reasons support waiting.
The second rule — the 'One Big Beautiful Bill' — is unrelated to the earnings test. That law, as described by Russell Gloor (Social Security advisor at the AMAC Foundation), adds a $6,000-per-person deduction on federal income tax returns for people 65 and older, intended to offset income tax on Social Security benefits actually received. Critically, the law expires after the 2028 tax year unless Congress extends it. Because the daughter's own nursing career benefit may ultimately exceed her widow's benefit, Gloor recommends she wait until 67, then compare both benefit amounts before deciding which to claim.
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