We must convert mother/father or surviving divorced mother/father benefits to widow(er)’s
benefits, even if disadvantageous to the family, when the beneficiary attains full
retirement age (FRA) and meets the conditions for entitlement to WIB or surviving divorced spouse’s benefits
(RS 00207.001). When a mother/father attains FRA, Title II Redesign (T2RD) will automatically convert
her/him to widow(er)'s benefits if:
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age for the mother/father is proven on the Master Beneficiary Record (MBR) (proof
code B, C, F or Q).
By law we cannot continue mother/father benefits at FRA if the claimant meets the
conditions for entitlement to WIB or surviving divorced spouse’s benefits. Neither
can we convert mother/father benefits to widow(er) benefits without necessary proofs.
If the beneficiary does not submit required evidence, suspend (S9) mother/father benefits
effective with the month of attainment of FRA as proven or alleged on our records
and annotate the Special Message field with the reason for suspension. The due process
procedures in GN 03001.000 apply.
REMINDER: You may use the POA tolerance procedure in GN 00302.030, if it applies, to determine
the beneficiary’s age for RETAP alerts RT11 and RT42. For details, see GN 00302.030B.7.
IMPORTANT: Surviving divorced mothers/fathers must meet the 10 year duration of marriage requirement
for entitlement to a surviving divorced spouse’s benefit. (See RS 00207.005D. and SM 03020.100C.2.) When the claimant is a surviving divorced mother/father, the
system checks the MBR to ensure the marriage duration requirement is met in addition
to the entitlement conditions shown in RS 00208.085A. before converting benefits.