Social Security survivor benefits: a guide for widows and widowers

When a husband, wife or parent who worked under Social Security dies, the family may be able to keep part of that income through survivor benefits. For many widows and widowers, the survivor benefit ends up being the largest check they will receive. But the amount depends heavily on when you start it, and the rules about remarriage, children and your own retirement benefit are easy to miss in a difficult time.

This guide explains who can get survivor benefits, how much, what changes the amount, and the choices a surviving spouse has, using Social Security's own pages. The numbers in the examples are illustrations; your actual amount comes from Social Security.

Who can get survivor benefits

Social Security lists four groups: spouses, ex-spouses, children and dependent parents of someone who worked and paid Social Security taxes.

Widows and widowers

• Age 60 or older, or 50 to 59 with a disability, and
• married at least 9 months before the spouse died, and
• not remarried before 60 (or 50 with a disability).

You might be eligible regardless of your age or how long you were married; Social Security's common example is caring for a child of the person who died.

Divorced spouses

Ex-spouses who were married at least 10 years may be eligible, as can some valid non-marital legal relationships.

Children and parents

Unmarried children 17 or younger, 18 or 19 and in school full time through grade 12, or any age with a disability that began before 22. Parents 62 or older who were financially supported by the child who died may also qualify.

How much a surviving spouse gets

Social Security says payments start at 71.5% of your spouse's benefit and increase the longer you wait to apply, reaching up to 100% at your full retirement age for survivor benefits, which is between 66 and 67. If the spouse who died had a benefit of $2,400 a month:

Social Security's estimate of the average benefit for an aged widow or widower living alone is $2,005 a month after the 2027 increase, up from $1,936.

Children's benefits and the family maximum

Children generally get 75% of the parent's benefit. There is a limit on how much one family can receive on a worker's record, called the family maximum, and Social Security may lower everyone's payments to stay under it. Benefits paid to ex-spouses do not count toward the family maximum, so a divorced spouse's benefit does not reduce the current family's.

Your own benefit and the survivor benefit

If you are eligible for a survivor benefit and another benefit, such as your own retirement benefit, Social Security pays the one that is best for you; it does not add them together. You can also switch later. Social Security's own example is starting with survivor benefits and then changing to your retirement benefit at 70, when that payment is highest.

That switch can be valuable because your own retirement benefit grows with delayed retirement credits until 70, while you collect the survivor benefit in the meantime. The claiming age guide shows how much your own benefit grows at each age, and the claiming age calculator works it out for your figures.

Working while getting survivor benefits

If you are younger than full retirement age and work, your survivor payment can be temporarily reduced when earnings pass the yearly limit: $25,560 for 2027, or $67,920 in the year you reach full retirement age. The guide to working while collecting explains how withholding works and how it is paid back.

Medicare

You might also qualify for Medicare based on the deceased worker's record if you are 65 or older, or have a disability or end-stage renal disease. The Medicare enrollment guide covers when to sign up.

The one-time death payment

A spouse or some minor children may also receive a one-time lump-sum death payment of $255.

What to do

1. Call Social Security for a survivor benefit estimate: 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778). Have the Social Security number of the person who died, or their date of birth and parents' names.
2. Compare starting the survivor benefit now with waiting, using the percentages above.
3. If you have your own work record, compare it too, and consider whether switching later makes sense.
4. If children are involved, ask about their benefits and the family maximum.
5. Check whether you need to sign up for Medicare.

The survivor benefits page keeps these rules in one table, and the spousal benefits page covers benefits while both spouses are living.