Our Lifetime Commitment to You and Yours
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: December 13, 2018
Social Security is here with information, tools, and benefits to help you secure today and tomorrow. Our journey together begins when you’re born and get your Social Security card. It continues when you get your first job and follows you through your entire career, marriage, and retirement. Our commitment is to be with you throughout life’s journey.
Our promise extends to surviving family members when a worker dies.
Some of the Social Security taxes you pay go toward survivors benefits for your family. In the event of your death, certain members of your family may be eligible for survivors benefits; these include widows and widowers, divorced widows and widowers, children, and dependent parents.
The amount of benefits your survivors receive depends on your lifetime earnings. The higher your earnings are, the higher their benefits will be. The value of your survivors benefit may be more than the value of your individual life insurance.
By making sure your earnings are posting correctly, you are passing down protections to your survivors, just as your parents did before you. You can do this by:
- Creating a personal my Social Security account. Your my Social Security account is secure and gives you immediate access to your earnings records, Social Security benefit estimates, and a printable Social Security Statement.
- Visiting our Benefits Planner for Survivors to help you better understand your and your family’s Social Security protection as you plan for your financial future.
- Checking your Social Security Statement to see an estimate of survivors benefits we could pay your family. It also shows an estimate of your retirement and disability benefits and provides other important information.
For more information, please visit our website or read our publication Survivors Benefits. You can also help us spread the word by sharing this information with your family and friends.
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About the Author
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Jim Borland, Acting Deputy Commissioner for Communications
Comments
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jean b.
Why does the $255 death benefit not be paid to a funeral home for a deceased single destitute person who had no funds for a funeral. Her child is a penniless 33 year old.
Diane R.
My spouse died suddenly in Oct. The check from SS was deposited; then the next day is was retrieved back by SS. It is my understanding that payment is one month behind; ex: his Oct payment was for September. Why was it taken and what do I need to do to get it.
R.F.
We are sorry to hear of your loss, Diane. Generally, payments are “automatically” returned upon notification of the beneficiary’s death.
We may pay amounts due a deceased beneficiary to a family member or legal representative of the estate. You may also qualify for survivor’s benefits.
For more information on the order of preference and to file a claim for the amounts due in the case of a deceased beneficiary, please visit our webpage titled: Claim For Amounts Due In The Case Of Deceased Beneficiary.
For further assistance or to make an appointment with your local Social Security office, please call our toll-free number at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Generally, you will have a shorter wait time if you call later during the day or later in the week.
We hope this information is helpful.
Arayna S.
Will the mailing of 1099-SSA forms be affected by the government shutdown? I have concerned tax clients.
john s.
IS THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN EFFECT MY SS CHECK WHICH I GET MONTHLY.PLEASE LET ME KNOW
Christina S.
I’m waiting to hear this answer since usually it states in the app that the payment is pending by now and it’s not showing up yet….. Making me nervous
Lynn H.
No. Soc Sec benefits are in a fund unaffected by the budget (or lack thereof).
Lynn H.
No, checks are from fund not affected by having a budget or not. The only thing that may be delayed are applications, but I can’t get an answer to that question either. Probably because 95% of their staff has been furloughed.
Lynn H.
I’ve read that some SSA employees will be furloughed, will that slow down applications, either taking them or processing them since there will be fewer employees available for intake?
John R.
Will the government shutdown under discussion in Washington, DC stop the payment of Social Security pension benefits on December 26, 2018?
A.C.
Hi, John. There is no anticipated disruption in benefit payments for Social Security beneficiaries or Supplemental Security Income beneficiaries. All payments will be made on schedule. Thanks.
Danny C.
Are you eligible for survivor benefits if you are receiving Social Security Disability benefits? Is it only the greater of the two that you are entitled to?
A.C.
Thanks for your question, Danny. You will not receive both benefits but you can switch to a survivors benefit. This assumes that you are eligible for survivors benefits and your survivors rate is higher than your disability rate. We can compare your own potential survivor benefit with your current disability benefit. For more information on how this works, visit our Survivors Planner. You can also contact us at 1-800-772-1213, Monday-Friday between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to speak with a representative. Generally, you’ll have a shorter wait time if you call later in the day. Hope this helps!
Soraida N.
Buenos días, mi nombre es Maria Eugenia Gòmez, vivo en colombia mi esposo murió el 28 de enero de 2008 el era colombiano con ciudadanía americana, el antes de morir me dijo que cuando tuviera la edad para recibir beneficios de sobrevivientes realizará los trámites, ya cumplí 60 años pero la verdad no se a donde comunicarme o como verificar si tengo derecho a beneficios de sobreviviente por viudez, le agradeceria me pudieran dar información para realizar dichos trámites.
A.C.
For information in Spanish, please visit us at http://www.segurosocial.gov or http://www.facebook.com/segurosocial. For Social Security information in other languages, please visit us at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/multilanguage. Thanks!
Teresa
I’ve heard that my daughter can draw her biological fathers benefits from where he passed a few years ago. Is this true? And what do I need to do to get it started?
V.V.
Thank you for using our blog, Teresa. When a parent passes away, his or her child also may get benefits. The child can be a biological child, adopted child or stepchild.
To get benefits, the child must be unmarried and:
• Younger than age 18;
• A full-time student (no higher than grade 12) 18 to 19 years old; or
• Have a disability that started before age 22 and is 18 years or older.
See our factsheet on Benefits for Children for more information.
You can schedule an appointment to apply for benefits by:
•Calling us at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778) between 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday; or
•Contacting your local Social Security office.
Patricia A.
Social security reps has not given me my deceased,vietnam war hero social security benefits Some widows in my neighborhood get all their husband’s social security,some ,get half and I get nothing My husband left that money to me, to take care me until I die he was a prisoner of war for 2 years in Vietnam he left that MONEY TO ME. I HAVE CONTACTED LAWYERS