How Much Will You Get?
The actual monthly dollar amount you receive will depend on how much money (earnings that were subject to Social Security payroll taxes) your spouse or ex-spouse made over their lifetime. Each person’s Social Security statement provides an estimate of survivor’s benefits.
Below are some guidelines to use to help you estimate how much you may be eligible for as a survivor benefit.
Neither of You Had Started Benefits
- If neither of you had started benefits yet, and you wait until your survivor full retirement age (likely your age 66 or 67) or older to apply for your widow/widower benefits, you will receive 100 percent of your deceased spouse’s basic benefit amount. It means if they were eligible to get $1,650 a month at their full retirement age, you would get $1,650 a month by waiting until your full retirement age to file.
- Survivor’s benefits include the effect of delayed retirement credits. It means if a deceased spouse was already past age 66 or 67 and had not started taking Social Security (they can delay until their age 70), it may result in a higher survivor benefit for you than if they had filed earlier. You can get what the would have gotten at that later age.
Reductions to Benefits
- You can apply for Social Security survivor benefits as early as age 60. If you file between age 60 and your survivor full retirement age, you will receive somewhere between 71 - 99% of your deceased spouse’s basic benefit amount. (The amount scales up for each month that you are closer to your full retirement age.)
- If you collect a survivor benefit and you have not yet reached full retirement age, you can lose some of your benefits by working. It happens if your earnings are in excess of the earnings limit.
You or Your Spouse Had Started Benefits, or You Are Caring for a Young Child
- Once you and your spouse are both receiving Social Security benefits, upon the death of your spouse, you will continue to receive the larger of your benefit - or your spouse’s - but not both.
- If your spouse had started benefits, but you had not, you can choose to collect a survivor benefit now, then switch to your benefit at your age 70 if your benefit would be larger at that point.
- At any age, if you are caring for a child younger than age 16, you will receive 75 percent of the deceased worker’s benefit amount.
Benefits for Ex-Spouses
- If you are an ex-spouse but were married at least ten years you are eligible for the spousal survivor benefit - even if your ex-spouse remarried.
How Much Will You Get?
The actual monthly dollar amount you receive will depend on how much money (earnings that were subject to Social Security payroll taxes) your spouse or ex-spouse made over their lifetime. Each person’s Social Security statement provides an estimate of survivor’s benefits.
Below are some guidelines to use to help you estimate how much you may be eligible for as a survivor benefit.
Neither of You Had Started Benefits
- If neither of you had started benefits yet, and you wait until your survivor full retirement age (likely your age 66 or 67) or older to apply for your widow/widower benefits, you will receive 100 percent of your deceased spouse’s basic benefit amount. It means if they were eligible to get $1,650 a month at their full retirement age, you would get $1,650 a month by waiting until your full retirement age to file.
- Survivor’s benefits include the effect of delayed retirement credits. It means if a deceased spouse was already past age 66 or 67 and had not started taking Social Security (they can delay until their age 70), it may result in a higher survivor benefit for you than if they had filed earlier. You can get what the would have gotten at that later age.
