Recently, I wrote a column about how Social Security impacts widows and widowers. But the questions keep flowing into my inbox. So today, more answers to more questions from widows.

Q: My husband died two months ago. He had been getting Social Security disability benefits for years. I am 64 years old and I have been getting my own Social Security since I was 62. I filed for widow's benefits and was shocked to learn that because I took early retirement (following your advice, by the way), my widow's benefit is now permanently reduced! Please tell your readers that taking reduced retirement benefits has ramification for any future widow's benefits you might be due.

A: I won't do that because it's wrong. Either you were misinformed, or you misunderstood what someone at the Social Security Administration told you. The fact that you took reduced retirement has nothing to do with the amount of your widow's benefits. About all that really matters is your age when you filed for widow's benefits. If you start those benefits before age 66, there will be a reduction. That reduction is roughly one-half of one percent for each month you are under age 66. So at age 64, your widow's benefit is reduced roughly 12 percent. To repeat, your widow's benefits are not reduced because you took your own benefits at 62. They are reduced because you were 64 when you filed for widow's benefits.

And perhaps it was not explained to you, but you would have had the option of continuing to receive your reduced retirement benefits until age 66. And then, at that time, you could have switched to 100 percent widow's benefits.

If you like that option and can afford it, you could go back to your Social Security office and ask to withdraw your widow's claim. Anyone has up to 12 months to change his or her mind about a Social Security claim and withdraw it. You could then live on your own reduced retirement benefits until you are 66, when you would refile for widow's benefits and get the 100 percent rate. (By the way, in a recent column, I mistakenly said you have six months to withdraw a claim. I apologize for the error.)

I also need to deliver this message to my readers. You said you followed my advice when you filed for reduced retirement benefits. I have pointed out hundreds of times in this column that I am NOT a financial advisor and I do not advise people when to file for benefits. On the other hand, I do explain Social Security rules about the ramifications of filing for Social Security benefits at various ages.

To be fair, I must admit that as an antidote to the "Social Security maximizing" fever that has gripped so many seniors today, and that has so many of them delaying starting their benefits until age 70, I occasionally tell my readers about my wife and I taking our Social Security at 62 and how we've been having fun spending our reduced retirement benefits. I have never meant that to be "advice." I'm simply relating my own personal experience.

Q: My 88-year-old husband recently died. He had started his Social Security when he was 62 years old. I am 81. I never worked outside the home. So I was getting wife's benefits on his record. I thought that after he died I was going to start getting his full Social Security benefit. I got an increase, but not as much as I thought. Can you explain this to me?

A: I'm not sure what you meant when you said you thought you would get his "full benefit." If you meant his full retirement age benefit, then that's wrong. You will never get that. Or to put that another way, because he took reduced retirement benefits, that reduction carries over to the widow's benefits you are now due.

And please note that this is a different scenario from the issue discussed in the first question. In that case, the fact that the widow took her own early retirement benefits had no impact on her eventual widow's benefits. But in your case, the fact that your husband took early retirement does impact your widow's benefits.

I usually tell women over age 66 that they will start getting whatever their husband was getting when he died in the form of widow's benefits. So if he was getting a reduced retirement benefit, that reduced benefit will then become your widow's rate (minus whatever you might be due in your own retirement benefits.)

But that is not always the case because the law guarantees that a widow (over age 66) can't get less than 82.5 percent of her deceased husband's full benefit rate. You said your husband took benefits at 62. For someone his age, that meant he was getting 80 percent of his full benefit. As I just said, you would normally get that. But because of the widow's 82.5 percent guaranteed minimum, you will actually get 2.5 percent more than he was getting.

Q: My ex-husband recently died. We had been married for 35 years before we divorced in 2010. Neither of us remarried. He was 75, and I am 74. His Social Security benefit is almost twice as much as mine. Based on something you wrote in a previous column about a similar situation, I called Social Security and told them I wanted to file for divorced widow's benefits. Imagine my shock when they told me that no such benefits existed! What should I do now?

A: You should call them back, or maybe plan a trip to your local Social Security office, and insist on filing for divorced widow's benefits, which, by the way, really do exist. But this time, tell them you want to file for "surviving divorced wife's benefits." That's the name the Social Security Administration uses to refer to benefits for divorced widows. And I suppose legally that's the proper term. After all, if your ex-husband dies, you're not really his "widow." You're his ex-wife and you've survived him, so that makes you his "surviving divorced wife."

(Note to readers: This woman eventually got back to me and told me that after visiting her local office and asking to file a surviving divorced wife's claim, everything worked out. Still, it bugs me that the first SSA clerk she talked to couldn't figure out what this lady meant when she said she wanted to file for divorced widow's benefits.)

If you have a Social Security question, Tom Margenau has the answer. Contact him at [email protected]. To find out more about Tom Margenau and to read past columns and see features from other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.