Social Security Survivor Benefits: 10 Things Spouses Need to Know

If the deceased had passed FRA without claiming Social Security, the survivor benefit will be boosted to reflect the delayed retirement credits they would have earned for putting off filing. 

4. You don’t automatically get your late spouse’s whole benefit.

Widows and widowers are entitled to 100 percent of their late spouse’s Social Security benefit if they claim survivor benefits at their own full retirement age. FRA for survivor benefits differs from that for retirement benefits; it’s 66 if the survivor was born from 1945 through 1956 but will rise in steps to 67 over the next several years.

What happens if you file earlier? At 60, you can collect 71.5 percent of what your late spouse was getting each month from Social Security (or would have been entitled to get if they died before claiming). The proportion grows incrementally for each month you delay filing until your FRA. Any reduction for taking benefits early remains in effect permanently.

You also get 71.5 percent if you claim benefits in your 50s as a disabled surviving spouse. For people younger than 60 who claim survivor benefits on the basis of caring for the deceased’s children, the proportion is fixed at 75 percent.

If you have any questions about the survivor benefit to which you’re entitled, contact Social Security.

5. You can’t apply online.

You can only file for survivor benefits in person at a Social Security field office or by phone (call 800-772-1213 or contact your local office). Unlike with retirement and disability benefits, there’s no online application process.

If you were already receiving spousal benefits before your partner’s passing, Social Security will automatically convert them to survivor benefits once it is notified of the death.

6. You can’t collect both a survivor benefit and a retirement benefit.

Social Security doesn’t add benefits together. If you’re entitled to two types of payments — as both a retiree and a survivor of one, for example — Social Security determines which payment is higher and sends you that amount. 

By the same token, if you’re, sadly, twice widowed, you can’t collect survivor benefits on the earnings records of both late spouses. You’ll get whichever one is higher — unless your own retirement benefit is bigger still, in which case you’ll get that. 

7. But you can switch from one to the other.

Retirement and spousal benefits are usually subject to a rule called deemed filing: When you claim one, you’re deemed to be simultaneously claiming the other if you’re eligible for both.

That’s not the case with survivor benefits. If you’re not yet receiving any Social Security, you can apply for both that and survivor benefits at the same time (in which case, you’d get the larger of the two benefit amounts) — but you don’t have to, and that can provide some flexibility in financial planning.

Say your late spouse earned considerably more than you during their lifetime. In this case, you might consider taking your retirement benefit first, to provide some Social Security income, and wait until your FRA to claim the larger survivor benefit in full. Or vice versa, if your retirement benefit would be bigger. Talk to a financial adviser or Social Security representative to assess your benefit options.

8. Divorce isn’t disqualifying.

If you were married to someone for at least 10 years before splitting up, you may be able to collect survivor benefits on your former spouse’s earnings record when your ex has died. The rules on age and payment amounts are the same for a divorced spouse as for a widow or widower.

Receiving benefits as a surviving ex-spouse has no effect on survivor benefits paid to the widow or widower and vice versa. If both filed at FRA, for example, both would be eligible to receive 100 percent of the late worker’s benefit amount.

9. But remarriage can be disqualifying.

If you remarry before turning age 60 (50 if disabled), you forfeit eligibility for survivor benefits on a prior spouse’s (or ex-spouse’s) earnings record. You can regain eligibility if the later marriage ends due to divorce or death.

Remarrying after that age has no impact on eligibility for survivor benefits stemming from a previous marriage.

10. Your kids may be able to get survivor benefits too.

The children of deceased workers may be able to collect survivor benefits of up to 75 percent of what their late parent was getting (or would have been entitled to get) from Social Security. More than 2 million children were doing so as of March 2023.

Sons and daughters can get survivor benefits if they are unmarried and under age 18, slightly older but still attending elementary or secondary school full time (eligibility ends upon high school graduation or age 19 years and 2 months, whichever comes first) or disabled due to a condition that occurred before age 22. Stepchildren who meet these criteria may also qualify in some situations. 

When you apply on behalf of a child, you’ll need to show proof of their relationship to the deceased, such as a birth certificate or adoption record.