Social Security Survivor Benefits - What Happens to Your Social Security Income When One Spouse Dies

When Social Security was first established, it only paid retirement benefits to workers who qualified. It was later amended to include benefits for spouses and survivors, which made it more of a family benefit plan, instead of just a retirement plan.

Unfortunately, it is inevitable that many husbands and wives will find themselves widowed during their retirement. This is not only a huge loss emotionally, but can be a huge loss financially as well, especially since the survivor will lose the income 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 benefit is 100% of the spouse's benefit before he or she passed. Assuming that both spouses are already receiving Social Security benefits, if the spouse with the higher benefit passes away first, the lower benefit spouse will get an increase in her benefit. However if the spouse with the lower benefit passes first, the surviving spouse's benefit will not change.

There are some rules in order to qualify for the survivor benefit: The couple must have been married for at least 9 months before the spouse's death, unless 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. Just like with retirement and spousal benefits, the widow may not want to start collecting at age 60 because the benefit will be reduced for every month received before reaching full retirement age. A widow can expect 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 receive the survivor benefit or your own benefit, whichever is higher. So your benefit will go up if your spouse's benefit was higher than your own, however you will still lose 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 assuming your spouse passes before you reach full retirement age is to start collecting widow's benefits when your spouse passes (assuming you are at least 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 increase your retirement benefit. Or, if the survivor benefit is significantly higher than your own benefit, you could apply for your own benefit early, then switch to the survivor benefit when you reach full retirement age.

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