Widowed? How Social Security Can Help
March 13, 2017Spouses who lose a partner are faced with a myriad of financial decisions at a time when they feel least equipped to deal with them. What resources are available to you as a surviving spouse? For most Americans, available resources include Social Security.
If you are a worker’s widow or widower, you — and your minor children if you have them — may be eligible for Social Security Survivor benefits. According to the Social Security Administration’s guide to How Social Security Can Help You When a Family Member Dies, the first and most important step is to contact the SSA to make sure your family gets all the benefits for which you are eligible. Benefits are based on what the late worker paid into Social Security and for how long. You cannot file online for survivor benefits. The best way to get a specific benefit information is to contact your local Social Security office or call 1-800-772-1213.
If you are the surviving spouse
You may be eligible to receive monthly Social Security survivor benefits if you are:
- A widow or widower age 60 or older
- A disabled widow or widower age 50 or older (and the disability started before or within seven years of the worker’s death)
- A widow or widower of any age caring for the deceased’s child who is under age 16 or disabled
If your late spouse had not yet filed for Social Security retirement benefits, your survivor payment will be based on what your late spouse would have received at full retirement age (FRA), adjusted for various factors, such as your age when you file. The survivor benefit is based on what your late spouse paid into the Social Security system as well as their age at death. The more they paid into Social Security, the higher your monthly benefit would be. See If You Are The Worker’s Widow Or Widower.
Retirement claiming strategies for survivors
When you retire, you are able to receive surviving spousal benefits or your own benefits (whichever is greater). You may only receive one benefit at a time, but there are strategies for maximizing what you receive. You may be able to claim survivor benefits at age 60, then switch to claiming based on your own work record at your full retirement age or later, up to age 70. If your benefit at full retirement age or later is greater than your survivor benefit, you would maximize your overall Social Security benefits by claiming survivor benefits early and deferring your own benefit until full retirement age.
However, if your spouse was a much higher earner than you, the reverse would make sense: claim Social Security retirement benefits at 62 based on your own earnings record and then claim survivor benefits later on when the benefit equals your late spouse’s FRA. If you are still working, you can claim survivor benefits but your earnings may reduce your total benefit amount. See this article for a more detailed description of claiming strategies.
Benefits for minor or disabled children
Unmarried, minor children of a worker may be eligible to receive Social Security survivors benefits:
- An unmarried child of the deceased under age 18
- An unmarried child of the deceased up to age 19 if he or she is a full-time student in an elementary or secondary school
- A child of any age, who was disabled before age 22 and who remains disabled
- A stepchild, grandchild or adopted child under certain circumstances
Surviving dependents of the deceased spouse may receive a monthly benefit of 75 percent of the deceased worker’s benefit amount. (See If You’re The Worker’s Minor Or Disabled Child.) There’s a cap on how much a family can receive in total between surviving spouse and children, generally 150 to 180 percent of the deceased spouse’s benefit amount.
If you are a surviving divorced spouse
If you were married to your ex-spouse for at least 10 years but are now divorced and have not remarried, your surviving spousal benefits are not affected by your divorce. If you are caring for your ex-spouse’s minor (under 16) or disabled child, you do not have to meet the “length of marriage” test. See If You’re The Worker’s Surviving Divorced Spouse for more information.
What if you remarry?
If you remarry after age 60 (age 50 if disabled) your remarriage will not affect your eligibility for Social Security survivors benefits. This also applies to surviving ex-spouses.
How to calculate your benefits
Use the benefit calculators on SSA.gov to estimate your Social Security benefits. See also Social Security Survivors Benefits Planner.
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