Social Security Survivor Benefits Made Easy

Most people do not like to talk about death. But an important part of your financial health is what happens to your Social Security benefits when a spouse passes away.

To qualify for Survivor Benefits:

• Survivor needs to be at least 60 and not married, or 50 if disabled
• You need to be married at least 9 months except in the case of an accident
• An ex-spouse can collect a survivor benefit if married at least 10 years
• Eligible children under 16 can also receive a survivor benefit, worth up to 75% of the deceased’s benefit
• You cannot apply online

To confirm eligibility, you will need the following documents:

• Proof of death, either from a funeral home or death certificate
• Your Social Security number, as well as that of your deceased spouse
• Your birth certificate
• Your marriage certificate if you are a widow or widower
• Any dependent children’s Social Security numbers and birth certificates
• Your deceased spouse’s W-2 forms or federal self-employment tax return for the most recent year

Summary of relevant items:

• Considered separate from your own retirement benefit – this benefit is paid to a spouse, ex-spouse, and young children
• Survivors must apply for the lump-sum death benefit of $255 within two years of the date of the spouse’s death. To report a death or apply for survivor’s benefits, call or visit your local Social Security office
• Any time there is a survivor benefit involved, you should always consider taking one of the two benefits as soon as possible. You can choose to claim survivor benefit and switch to your own worker benefit later if advantageous, or vise-versa
• If you apply before your full retirement age, the benefit will be reduced
• If you remarry before age 60, you cannot receive a survivor benefit
• If you remarry after age 60, you will still be eligible for the survivor benefit
• The annual earnings limitation of $21,240 for 2023 applies if you have not reached your full retirement age
• If you have another government pension, the Government Pension Offset (GPO) will apply, but not the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP)
• There is NO advantage to waiting to start collecting survivor benefits after you reach full retirement age
• Return spouses’ retirement check to Social Security received in the month of death
• If you are receiving a spousal benefit, that benefit ends

What will you receive:

• If your deceased spouse HAS NOT FILED for benefits and passed away BEFORE FULL RETIREMENT AGE, you are entitled to receive the deceased’s full retirement age benefit
• If your deceased spouse HAS NOT FILED for benefits and passed away AFTER FULL RETIREMENT AGE, you are entitled to receive the deceased’s benefit as if they filed on the date of death
• If your deceased spouse DID FILE for benefits BEFORE FULL RETIREMENT AGE, you are entitled to receive what your spouse was receiving or 82.5% of your deceased spouse’s full retirement age benefit
• If your deceased spouse DID FILE for benefits ON OR AFTER FULL RETIREMENT AGE, you are entitled to receive what the deceased was receiving at the date of death
• Please be aware that if you file for survivor benefits before your full retirement age, the benefit will be adjusted based on your filing age, and as mentioned above, the annual earnings limitation will apply

There is a new Bill introduced in the House that would provide the surviving spouse a benefit equal to 75% of the combined Social Security benefits received by the couple before the death of the spouse. Now, a surviving spouse receives the higher of the two benefits being received and the lower benefit goes away. It is not law yet but would be a significant benefit to a surviving spouse.

I hope these important highlights will help clarify your decision-making process relative to survivor benefits. Remember, take the wrong benefit at the wrong time, it is always smaller and forever. You need to get your claiming strategy right the first time.