When a Social Security beneficiary dies, his or her surviving spouse is eligible for survivor benefits. A surviving spouse can collect 100 percent of the late spouse’s benefit if the survivor has reached full retirement age, but the amount will be lower if the deceased spouse claimed benefits before he or she reached full retirement age. (Full retirement age for survivor benefits differs from that for retirement and spousal benefits; it is currently 66 but will gradually increase to 67 over the next several years.)
If you were already receiving spousal benefits on the deceased’s work record, Social Security will in most cases switch you automatically to survivor benefits when the death is reported. Otherwise, you will need to apply for survivor benefits by calling the Social Security Administration at 800-772-1213 or contacting your local Social Security office.
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In most cases, a widow or widower qualifies for survivor benefits if he or she is at least 60 and had been married to the deceased for at least nine months at the time of death. But there are a few exceptions to those requirements:
- If the late beneficiary’s death was accidental or occurred in the line of U.S. military duty, there’s no length-of-marriage requirement.
- You can apply for survivor benefits as early as age 50 if you are disabled and the disability occurred within seven years of your spouse’s death.
- If you are caring for children from the marriage who are under 16 or disabled, you can apply at any age.
Whether you have wed again can also affect eligibility. If the remarriage took place before you turned 60 (50 if you are disabled), you cannot draw survivor benefits. You regain eligibility if that marriage ends. And there is no effect on eligibility for survivor benefits if you remarry at or past 60 (50 if disabled).
The survivor benefit is generally calculated on the benefit your late spouse was receiving from Social Security at the time of death (or was entitled to receive, based on age and earnings history, if he or she had not yet claimed benefits). The actual amount of your payment will differ according to your age and family circumstance:
- As previously noted, if you have reached full retirement age, you get 100 percent of the benefit your spouse was (or would have been) collecting.
- If you claim survivor benefits between age 60 and your full retirement age, you will receive between 71.5 percent and 99 percent of the deceased’s benefit. The percentage gets higher the older you are when you claim.
- If you claim in your 50s as a disabled spouse, the survivor benefit is 71.5 percent of your late spouse's benefit.
- If you apply on the basis of caring for a child who is under 16 or disabled, you can collect 75 percent of the late spouse’s benefit, regardless of your age.
Keep in mind
- You will not receive a survivor benefit in addition to your own retirement benefit; Social Security will pay the higher of the two amounts.
- If you are the divorced former spouse of a deceased Social Security recipient, you might qualify for survivor benefits on his or her work record.
- If you are below full retirement age and still working, your survivor benefit could be affected by Social Security's earnings limit.
- It does not matter whether a surviving spouse worked long enough to qualify for Social Security on his or her own. He or she can still collect benefits on the deceased spouse’s work record.
The earliest a widow or widower can start receiving Social Security survivors benefits based on age will remain at age 60. Widows or widowers benefits based on age can start any time between age 60 and full retirement age as a survivor. If the benefits start at an earlier age, they are reduced a fraction of a percent for each month before full retirement age.Receiving Survivors Benefits Early
If a person receives widow's or widower's benefits, and will qualify for a retirement benefit that's more than their survivors benefit, they can switch to their own retirement benefit as early as age 62 or as late as age 70. The rules are complicated and vary depending on the situation. Talk to a Social Security representative about the options available.
Pros And Cons
There are disadvantages and advantages to taking survivors benefits before full retirement age. The advantage is that the survivor collects benefits for a longer period of time. The disadvantage is that the survivors benefit may be reduced.
If you decide to delay your benefits until after age 65, you should still apply for Medicare benefits within three months of your 65th birthday. If you wait longer, your Medicare medical insurance (Part B) and prescription drug coverage (Part D) may cost you more money.
About The Chart
The chart lists full retirement ages for survivors based on year of birth. It includes examples of the age 62 survivors benefit based on an estimated monthly benefit of $1000 at full retirement age.
If the worker started receiving retirement benefits before their full retirement age, we cannot pay the full retirement age benefit amount on their record. Generally, if the person who died was receiving reduced benefits, we base the survivors benefit on that amount.
| 1939 or earlier | 65 | $829 | 60 | .475 |
| 1940 | 65 and 2 months | $825 | 62 | .460 |
| 1941 | 65 and 4 months | $822 | 64 | .445 |
| 1942 | 65 and 6 months | $819 | 66 | .432 |
| 1943 | 65 and 8 months | $816 | 68 | .419 |
| 1944 | 65 and 10 months | $813 | 70 | .407 |
| 1945 - 1956 | 66 | $810 | 72 | .396 |
| 1957 | 66 and 2 months | $807 | 74 | .385 |
| 1958 | 66 and 4 months | $805 | 76 | .375 |
| 1959 | 66 and 6 months | $803 | 78 | .365 |
| 1960 | 66 and 8 months | $801 | 80 | .356 |
| 1961 | 66 and 10 months | $798 | 82 | .348 |
| 1962 and later | 67 | $796 | 84 | .339 |
- If the survivor was born on January 1 of any year, use the information for the previous year.
- If someone was born on the 1st of the month, we figure the benefit (and the full retirement age) as if their birthday was in the previous month.
Note: The full retirement age may be different for retirement benefits.
- The $1,000 benefit would be reduced to $715 for anyone who started receiving survivors benefits at age 60.
- Monthly reduction percentages are approximate due to rounding. The maximum benefit is limited to what the worker would receive if they were still alive. Survivors benefits that start at age 60 are always reduced by 28.5%.
How To Use This Information
Each survivor's situation is different. Talk to a Social Security representative before you decide to take benefits.
If you know what the worker's yearly lifetime earnings were, you can use our Online Calculator to get a rough estimate of what the benefits would be for the surviving spouse at full retirement age.
If you know what the widow or widowers benefit is at full retirement age, you can use the information for the survivor's year of birth to find out how much the widows or widowers benefit would be at various ages.