A widow/widower-full benefits at 65 years of age, or reduced benefits as early as age 60. A disabled widow/widower may receive benefits as early as age 50. o Remarriage: In general, a widow/widower cannot receive benefits if they remarry before the age of 60 (50 if disabled) unless the latter marriage ends, whether by death, divorce, or annulment. However, remarriage after age 60 (50 if disabled) will not prevent payments on a former spouse’s record.
A widow/widower at any age, if he or she takes care of the deceased’s child. The child must be either under age 16 or disabled and receiving Social Security benefits.
Unmarried children under 18, or up to age 19 if they are attending elementary or secondary school full time. o Note: A child can receive benefits at any age if he or she was disabled before age 22 and remains disabled. Under certain circumstances, benefits can also be paid to stepchildren, grandchildren, or adopted children.
Dependent parents (i.e., receiving at least ½ of their support from the deceased worker) age 62 or older who are not entitled to other Social Security benefits equal to or larger than the amount of the survivor’s benefits and who have not remarried since the worker died. The parent must either be the natural parent or have legally adopted or become the stepparent of the deceased worker before the worker turned 16.
A former spouse can receive benefits under the same circumstances as a widow/widower if the marriage lasted 10 years or more.
Benefit Amount The amount of the survivor’s benefit is based on the earnings of the person who
died. The more the worker paid into Social Security, the higher the benefits will be. The amount a survivor receives is a percentage of the deceased’s basic Social Security benefit. However, benefits may be lower if the family maximum, which limits the total amount that can be drawn on one worker’s account each month, is reached. The following provides the most typical situations:
Widow or widower full retirement age 65 or older: 100 %. Widow or widower age 60 to 64: About 71 – 94%. Widow or widower at any age with a child under age 16: 75%. Children: 75%.
Applying for Benefits To file for benefits, the applicant should call 1-800-772-1213 and ask for an
appointment. A person can qualify for widow’s or widower’s benefits if he or she was 97
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118