Survivor Benefits: Four Tips Widows Need to Know
Reading Time: 2 MinutesLast Updated: November 1, 2022
Months before the first Social Security check was issued in 1940, lawmakers made changes to the planned benefits. Instead of the retired worker’s benefit ending when he died, his widow could collect a survivor benefit for her lifetime. Since then, the eligibility rules for survivors have improved. The age requirements are lower, surviving ex-spouses are eligible, including surviving spouses and partners of same-sex relationships.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that the surviving spouse is often unsure how to start claiming their survivor’s benefits. We have some information to assist you in applying for benefits as a surviving spouse.
If you are a widow (or your ex-spouse died), you may be eligible to receive benefits on your late spouse’s, or ex-spouse’s, Social Security record. How much you receive will depend on your age, the amount of benefits you may receive on your own record, and whether you have dependent children.
You may be entitled to receive a survivor’s benefit under the following circumstances:
- At age 50 if you have a disability.
- At age 60 (the benefit amount will be reduced).
- At any age if you have a child under your care who is under age 16 or who became disabled before age 22.
- If you were widowed and remarried after age 60.
If you’re entitled to retirement benefits – but haven’t applied yet – you have an option. You can decide to apply for either the retirement or survivors benefits first. You can switch to the other (higher) benefit later.
To help make this decision, it’s important to know your Full Retirement Age (FRA). Your FRA is when you can start receiving your full retirement benefit amount. For instance, if you were born between January 2, 1943 through January 1, 1955, your FRA is 66. If you start receiving benefits before your FRA, your benefits will be reduced, generally for as long as you continue to receive benefits.
There are many variables involved. Contact Social Security to discuss which benefit to take first – before applying for either benefit. You want to be sure you’re choosing the option that best fits your financial circumstances.
All the information you need is on the Social Security website. You must apply for survivors benefits over the phone or make an appointment to apply in person. You will also need to provide certain original documents.
Local Social Security offices are helping people in person with or without an appointment. This means staff will take applications in person and they will be available to help and answer any question you may have. I encourage you to call and schedule an appointment in advance to save time and so you have all the documents we need to help you in one visit. Please share this information with your friends and family – and post it on social media.
Our posting of this blog does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation of any non-Social Security organization, author, or webpages.
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Donna R.
My husband and I both collect SS. My husband recently passed on – will I still get his SS? Do I have to pay back his last SS benefit that he received?
Patricia
Hie do I apply for my deceased husband’s retirement. I just recently applied for his social security and I’m waiting for all that to go through. I didn’t realize that I could apply for retirement benefits as well.
Ann C.
Hi, Patricia. It sounds like you applied for survivor benefits. Retirement benefits are only applicable to the actual individual not a surviving spouse. For your security, we do not have access to private information in this venue. For specific questions regarding your application, please contact your local Social Security office. We hope this helps.
Crystal
how old do you have to be to retrieve spousal benefits ?
like I’m turning 54 in August ?
Patricia K.
If you take it now at 54 you will only get half. You won’t get the whole amount if you wait until you are 65 you will get it all.
Heather S.
Hi Crystal, If your spouse is alive, you may not collect spousal benefits until you are at least 62 and your spouse is claiming his/her own retirement benefits, unless you are caring for a dependent of your spouse who is under the age of 16 (or disabled before age 22). So, unless this last condition exists (children) , at age 54, you would not be entitled to claim a spousal benefit at your age. If your spouse is deceased, then you might be entitled to a survivor benefit if you were disabled within 7 years of your spouse’s death. In that case, survivor benefits are available as early as age 50 and perhaps earlier, in the case of caring for a dependent as mentioned above.
Ann C.
Hi, Crystal. Thanks for visiting our blog. To qualify for spouse’s benefits, your spouse must be receiving retirement or disability benefits and you must be age 62 or older. Keep in mind that if you qualify for your own benefits and for benefits as a spouse, we always pay your own benefits first. If your benefits as a spouse are higher than your own benefits, you will get a combination of benefits equaling the higher spouse benefit. Visit our Benefits Planner for more information. We hope this helps.
N R.
Yres.It is very unfair.Like me.Because of
These GPO I could not collect survivors
benefits.I survived two husbands.
With inflation my own benefits is not
hardly enough to live by.Repeal GPO!!!
Patricia K.
You are so right, how sad for us widows.
Debbie F.
I worked for Texas Education Agency. Because my pension plan is separate from Social Security, I cannot collect my own SS (without losing 2/3 of it) from my SS covered work due to WEP. Neither will I be able to collect any spousal benefits from my husband’s SS due to GPO. These are things that we were not told prior to my 2007 retirement. Thank for the information here, but where were you when I was planning my retirement and these awful penalties were not discussed. Now employers and SS make you aware of these dreadful policies, but they were not publicized prior to my retirement. #RepealWEP #Repeal GPO
E. P.
This is all so sad. Repeal the WEP and GPO!! Give people their earned benefits!
John S.
If someone has WEP or GPO, they likely paid very little/none at all into Social Security. They haven’t “earned” anything for that reason. And that’s why those provisions exist.
maxx
No, that answer is a generalized BS one. WEP is simply a punishment thanks to that old liar/traitor Ronald Reagan and republicans. If one has 10 years substantial earnings then one is qualified. WEP is just punishing those who worked elsewhere for no reason other than republican dogma.
Heather S.
I understand why it seems unfair when you have worked long enough (on average 10 years of social security covered earnings) to earn the 40 credits to be eligible for social security benefits. However, when you are a non-covered worker (i.e. most of your earnings are not subject to social security earnings), when your primary insurance amount (PIA) is calculated, you appear to be a very low earning individual. Your PIA is calculated using the highest 35 years of your indexed earnings. So, if you worked mostly in non-social security paying jobs for which a pension is eventually paid, your PIA will be calculated using 10 years of social security earnings (as an example) and 25 years of zeros (which might be the number of years you worked in a non-social security job where you earned a pension). The resulting benefit estimate makes it appear that you are a very low earning worker and Social Security is designed to replace a higher percentage of a lower earner’s pre-retirement wages than someone who has had higher earnings over a 35+ year earnings history. The Windfall Elimination Provision is designed to equalize the playing field by replacing the first tier of the computation formula with a smaller replacement percentage to account for that. Because most don’t understand the complexity that goes into the benefit computation formula (understandably so!), it appears as though it is unfair but it really is not – it is simply a way to offset the reality that these workers are receiving a social security like benefit (i.e. a pension) from a similar yet separate system.
Tony
Many States and their employees pay Social Security taxes. A repeal of the WEP and GPO would allow all the other States currently paying Social Security taxes to stop paying into the Social Security Trust Fund and reap the benefits. This means Social Security taxpayers would have to contribute more to pay for these freeloaders.
#SupportWEP, #SupportGPO, #NoFreeloaders.
Pam P.
You should warn that spouses that fall victim to the Government Pension Offset, (usually teachers, firefighters, and police with a pension) that their benefit will be significantly reduced or denied completely! SS is unfair to these public servants! #RepealGPO. Where is this information on your tips?
Jesse
I don’t think so. My friend retired from a Federal job and draws 80% of her base pay, which by the way is more than I make and I am still working. She also draws SS Retirement because after retiring from Federal job she worked in public sector. So don’t boohoo me.
Marta C.
I started to receive Windows Benefits (reduced) at the age of 60. Can I switch to my retirement benefit at the age of 70 if higher than my Widows? If yes, do I need to apply or will SSA automatically switch me over?
thanks in advance
E
Raul M.
You’ll need to file a formal application to switch to your own record.
Ann C.
Hi, Marta. Thanks for your question. You can switch to your own retirement benefit as early as age 62. This assumes that you are eligible for retirement benefits and your retirement rate is higher than your rate as a widow. In many cases, you could begin receiving your survivor benefit at a reduced rate and then, at your full retirement age, switch to your own retirement benefit at an unreduced rate. You would need to contact your local Social Security office to apply. You can read more about how this works by visiting our If You Are The Survivor page. We hope this helps.
Carol D.
Married 10 years then divorced. Remarried 19-20 years later at age 57
5 years ago Does the remarriage disqualify me?
Marco W.
If you got remarried before age 60, and are still currently married: yes, that would disqualify you from widows benefits on your first spouse’s record.
Ann C.
Hi, Carol. Thanks for your question. To be eligible for divorced spouse benefits, you had to be married to your former spouse for at least 10 years, you cannot be currently married, and you cannot be eligible for a higher benefit on your own record. For more information on how to qualify for divorced spouse benefits, visit our Benefits Planner. We hope this helps.
Vickie
Key sentence: there are many variables.
The government only knows how screwed we are AFTER they pass bills, then then discover what’s in the bill. That was a Nancy Pelosi statement, paraphrased.
Full Repeal of WEP & GPO HR82 S1302 financially harmful policies that affect retirees, spouses & disabled in ALL states.
2.8 million public employed retirees are affected by this unfair policy after working in both systems; public & private.
85% affected are women. Why aren’t these women’s rights groups helping to get the repeal?
Paying us our “earned” SS benefits is a drop in the bucket of our national budget. Our government needs to start putting the US citizens first in many ways. They need to hear the citizens voices and calls for correct policies.
Mary R.
The biggest thing widows need to be aware of is if they receive a government pension – even a small government pension – their spouses death benefit will be taken away from them or tremendously reduced!!! This is SO incredibly unfair!! Our spouses work their whole lives to provide for us. Please support HR 82
#RepealWEP/GPO