Father and Mother benefits, available to surviving spouses who have a child under age 16 of a retired worker or a deceased worker, are available at any age and are not reduced based on age.
For the surviving spouse caring for a child younger than age 16, reduced benefits are available if the deceased spouse had earned at least 6 quarters of credit in the three years prior to his or her death.
In addition to the Survivor Benefit that is available as early as age 60, there is also a Survivor Benefit available for a (potentially) much younger surviving spouse if that survivor is caring for a child aged 16 or younger.