Social Security Survivors

Social Security Resource Center

En español | Social Security is not just a guaranteed income for retired workers; it's also a form of insurance for families when those workers die. Today, Social Security pays monthly survivor benefits to nearly 3.9 million widows and widowers (including divorced former spouses) and about 2 million children of deceased wage earners.

In the AARP Social Security Resource Center, you’ll find practical information about how Social Security works when a worker dies, including:

Steps to take to report a death and begin collecting survivor benefits
How Social Security determines eligibility and calculates payments
How age and marital status affect what you collect

Basics

Q: How do survivor benefits work?

Q: How does Social Security work when a spouse dies?

Q: Who gets a Social Security death benefit?

Q: How long do Social Security survivor benefits last?

Q: How to report a death to Social Security

Benefits

Q: What are my options if I am eligible for both a Social Security retirement benefit and a survivor benefit?

Q: How do I make the change from Social Security survivor benefits to my Social Security retirement benefit?

Q: Can Social Security benefits go to the estates of beneficiaries who've died?

Q: Does the age I start my Social Security retirement benefit affect the amount my spouse will collect when I die?

Q: When people die before applying for benefits, what happens to the money they contributed to Social Security?

Q: How does Social Security calculate the survivor benefit if my spouse dies before claiming Social Security?

Q: My Social Security benefit is reduced because I collect a government pension. Will my spouse's survivor benefits be reduced too?

Q: If I am getting a pension, can I still collect Social Security survivor benefits?

Q: My spouse died last month. Do I have to return the Social Security payment sent to the bank this month?

Children & Family

Q: Can my children get my Social Security benefits when I die?

Q: Can the parents of a deceased Social Security recipient get survivor benefits?

Q: Can children who collected survivor benefits continue to receive the money while in college?

Spouses & Ex-Spouses

Q: Can I collect Social Security survivor benefits if my former spouse dies?

Q: Can I collect my deceased spouse's Social Security and my own at the same time?

Q: What happens to my Social Security survivor benefits if I remarry?

Q: Can I collect Social Security survivor benefits as a divorced spouse and wait to claim my own retirement benefit?

Q: When someone who was married more than once dies, who is eligible for their Social Security benefits?

Q: I was widowed from my first spouse and divorced from my second. Can I claim benefits on either one's record?

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