How You Will Proceed With Social Security Survivor Benefits After Your Spouse Passes Away
When Social Security was first created, it only paid retirement income to workers who were eligible. It was later revised to include benefits for spouses and survivors, that made it more of a family or insurance plan, instead of just a retirement plan.
Unfortunately, it is inevitable that many spouses will find themselves widowed around their retirement. This is not only a huge loss emotionally, but can be a major loss financially as well, particularly since the survivor will lose the money earned by the spouse that has passed away.
The Social Security survivor benefit was created to ensure that the surviving spouse wouldn't lose all of their income when the first spouse passes. Basically, the survivor income is 100% of the spouse's income before he or she passed. Assuming that both spouses are currently receiving Social Security, if the spouse with the greater amount of Social Security dies first, the spouse with the lower payment will get an increase in her income. However if the spouse with the lower benefit passes first, the surviving spouse's benefit will not change.
There are some policies in order to qualify for Social Security death benefits: The couple should have been married for no less than 9 months before the spouse's death, except if his death was a result of an accident. Also, divorced spouses may qualify for widow's benefits as long as they were married for at least 10 years.
Widows can apply for survivor benefits starting at age 60, or age 50 if they are disabled. Same as with retirement and spousal benefits, the widow may not want to start collecting at age 60 because the benefit will be decreased for every month received before attaining full retirement age. A widow can hope to receive anywhere from 71.5% to 100% of her deceased spouse's benefit depending on how old she is when she starts collecting the survivor benefit.
It's important to note that as a widow you will get the survivor benefit or your own benefit, whichever is more. So your benefit will go up if your spouse's benefit was more than your own, however you will still miss one benefit, so your total income from Social Security could be 1/3 to 1/2 lower than it was before your spouse passed.
One strategy to help maximize your total benefits considering your spouse passes before you reach full retirement age is to begin collecting widow's benefits as soon as your spouse passes (assuming you are more than age 60 or your are age 50 and disabled), then switch to your own benefit once you reach your full retirement age. This will allow your own retirement benefits to continue earning credits and therefore will raise your retirement benefit. Or, if the survivor benefit is significantly higher than your own benefit, you could request your own benefit early, then move to the survivor benefit when you attain full retirement age.
You should apply for Social Security widow benefits right away after a family member has passed. To do so, you can call the Social Security Administration or visit the office nearest to you. It's important to understand how Social Security survivor benefits operate so you can maximize your retirement income, especially after the loss of a loved one.
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