Social Security Benefits – What to Expect If Your Spouse Passes Away

For millions of retirees, Social Security benefits are an essential part of their financial security, and married couples may benefit further through spousal benefits. In 2024, the average spousal benefit for retired workers’ spouses was just over $900 per month.

But when a spouse passes away, it can lead to a financial shift. While it’s never easy to think about these situations, knowing how spousal and survivor benefits work can help ensure financial preparedness.

Benefit

If you qualify for spousal benefits, you can collect up to 50% of your spouse’s full retirement benefit amount, which is based on their earnings record. For many couples, this extra boost plays a big part in their retirement income.

However, if your spouse passes away, spousal benefits stop. Instead, you may become eligible for survivor benefits, which are based on your deceased spouse’s Social Security record. In certain cases, other family members, including ex-spouses, parents, and children, may qualify for survivor benefits if they were financially dependent on the deceased.

Eligibility

To qualify for survivor benefits, you generally need to be at least 60 years old (or 50 if you’re disabled). However, if you’re caring for a child of the deceased who is either under 16 or disabled, there is no minimum age requirement. If you remarry before age 60 (or age 50 if disabled), you won’t be eligible for survivor benefits from your late spouse. Remarrying after that age means you may still collect survivor benefits, and once you reach age 62, you could also claim spousal benefits on your new spouse’s record.

Amount

The amount you receive in survivor benefits depends on factors such as your age and relationship to the deceased. Widowed spouses can collect up to 100% of their late spouse’s benefit, but to receive the full amount, you must wait until your full retirement age (FRA), which is between ages 66 and 67 depending on your birth year.

If you claim survivor benefits early at age 60, you’ll receive around 71.5% of your late spouse’s benefit. Delaying past FRA doesn’t increase survivor benefits, as it does with regular retirement benefits. In other words, the maximum you can receive in survivor benefits is capped at 100% of your spouse’s benefit amount, no matter when you claim.

In certain cases, other family members, such as children and parents who were financially dependent on the deceased, may be eligible for survivor benefits. However, a family maximum limit applies, which may mean that benefits are reduced if the total amount exceeds a specified limit.

Retirement

If you’re already collecting Social Security retirement benefits based on your own work record, you can still switch to survivor benefits if your spouse’s benefit is higher. However, you won’t receive both benefits; instead, you’ll only collect the larger amount between your own benefit and the survivor benefit.

For example, if you’re currently receiving $2,000 per month based on your work record, and your late spouse received $1,500 per month, you won’t receive additional survivor benefits. However, if you were receiving $1,500 per month and your spouse’s benefit was $2,000, you would qualify to receive up to $2,000 in survivor benefits.

Survivor benefits provide critical financial support to widows, widowers, and other eligible family members. Knowing how these benefits work, who qualifies, and how much they might receive can make a significant difference in planning for the future, even if it’s difficult to imagine needing them.

FAQs