Social Security Survivors Benefits for a Spouse

Social Security widows benefits is just another term for Social Security survivors benefits — they are the same benefit.

The widows benefits, or survivors benefits, can be a critical piece of retirement planning. They are especially important for anyone who makes significantly less money than their spouse or for someone who left the workforce to raise children.

These benefits can prove especially beneficial for women because, statistically, women live longer than men and may outlive the family’s savings.

You can claim survivors benefits if your spouse dies and you are either age 60 or older, or are 50 or older with a disability.

You can also claim benefits at any age if you are caring for your spouse’s child who is either under age 16 or has a disability.

Your spouse must also have accrued enough Social Security work credits to be eligible. The number of credits needed depends on their age at the time of their death. However, anyone with at least 40 credits, or ten years of work, qualifies regardless of their age.

If neither you nor your deceased spouse received Social Security benefits, you won’t get your survivors benefits until you claim them. Depending on your needs, it may be best to wait until you reach full retirement age before claiming.

If you and your spouse collected Social Security benefits before your spouse died, you’ll receive the higher of the two benefit amounts after their death. You will not get the full amount of both benefits.

If your deceased spouse was collecting Social Security but you weren’t, you’ll need to claim your survivors benefits to get them, since they are not automatic. Depending on your age and financial situation, it may make sense to wait a few years to start collecting.

You may be eligible for survivors benefits as an ex-spouse if your marriage lasted at least 10 years and neither you nor your ex-spouse remarried. After age 60, you may remarry without affecting your eligibility for survivors benefits.

You can also get survivors benefits from an ex-spouse if you care for your ex-spouse’s minor-aged children or disabled child. In these conditions, you don’t have to have been married for any specific length of time to be eligible for benefits. However, the child must be your ex-spouse’s natural or legally adopted child to qualify.

The maximum survivors benefit amount depends on how much your spouse contributed to Social Security over their lifetime. Just like regular Social Security benefits, the maximum amount you can receive is $3,636 a month.

This is only possible if your spouse maxed out their Social Security contributions every year for at least 35 years. But there are several factors that may lower your benefit amount as well.

Some factors reduce the amount of money you receive each month. Among them are the following.

In addition, if you work while you collect the benefits, you won’t get the full amount. If you’re below the full retirement age, you’ll also have $1 deducted from your survivors benefits for every $2 you earn above $21,240.

During the year in which you reach full retirement age, you’ll have $1 deducted from your benefits for every $3 you earn above $56,520.

Your Social Security survivors benefit amount is based on your deceased spouse’s Social Security retirement benefit amount. You’ll receive 71.5% to 100% of the full amount, depending on your circumstances. To receive the full amount, you’ll need to claim your survivors benefits at full retirement age or older.

Depending on your work history and age, it’s possible that your Social Security benefits will be higher than your survivors benefits.

If so, and if you’re eligible to collect your Social Security benefits, you can default to the benefit that pays the most. However, you cannot receive both at the same time.

Just like standard Social Security, you may have a decision to make regarding when to collect survivors benefits. While there is no time limit to claim survivors benefits, claiming at full retirement age gets you the highest possible benefit amount.

And just like Social Security benefits, survivors benefits become taxable after you earn $25,000 in total income as a single person. This gives you an additional incentive to claim your benefits later in life when you will likely be earning less money.

On the other hand, some people may need to collect survivors benefits early to remain financially stable. Others may be entitled to greater Social Security benefits based on their own work history, making it advantageous to claim survivors benefits early before later claiming their retirement benefits.

If you’re not sure when it makes sense to claim your survivors benefits, ask a Social Security representative about it. They’ll help you determine the best time for you to claim.

You can apply for survivors benefits either by calling the Social Security Administration’s toll-free line at 1-800-772-1213 or by visiting a local office. While an appointment is not necessary, it may help to have your documents handy for a quicker process.

If you have a disability, you will also need to provide completed versions of forms SSA-3368 and SSA-827. This includes any medical records that verify the claims you’ve made on those forms.