Survivors Benefits

SSA.gov
What’s inside
The importance of Social Security
survivors insurance 1

If you’re working...what you need to

know about survivors benefits 1

When a relative dies...what you need

to know about survivors benefits 5

Contacting Us 8
The importance of Social Security
survivors insurance
The loss of the family wage earner can be devastating
both emotionally and financially. Social Security helps by
providing income for the families of workers who die.
This booklet gives you an overview of Social Security
survivors benefits paid to the spouses and children of
workers who die. This booklet isn’t intended to answer
all the questions you may have. For more information
about our survivors benefits, visit our website, or call our
toll-free number.

If you’re working...what you need

to know about survivors benefits
“Life insurance” from Social Security
Many people think of us only as a retirement program.
But some of the Social Security taxes you pay go toward
survivors benefits for workers and their families. In fact, the
value of the survivors benefits you have under us is probably
more than the value of your individual life insurance.
When you die, certain members of your family may be
eligible for survivors benefits. These include surviving
spouses (and divorced surviving spouses), children, and
dependent parents.
How do I earn survivors benefits?
As you work and pay Social Security taxes, you earn
credits toward your Social Security benefits. The number
of years you need to work for your family to be eligible for
Social Security survivors benefits depends on your age
when you die. The younger you are, the fewer years you
need to have worked. But no one needs more than 10
years of work to be eligible for any Social Security benefit.

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Under a special rule, we can pay benefits to your
children and your spouse who is caring for the children.
This applies if you’ve worked for only one and one-half
years in the three years just before your death.
Who can get survivors benefits based on
your work?
• Your surviving spouse may be able to get full
benefits at full retirement age. The full retirement
age for survivors is age 66 for people born between
1945 and 1956. And the full retirement age will
gradually increase to age 67 for people born in 1962
or later. This is different from the full retirement age
for retirement benefits, which is 67 for people born in
1960 or later. Your surviving spouse can get reduced
benefits as early as age 60. If your surviving spouse
has a disability, benefits can begin as early as age
50. For more information on survivors benefits, visit
www.ssa.gov/survivorplan.
• Your surviving spouse may be able to get benefits at
any age if they take care of your child who is younger
than age 16 or who has a disability. The child must be
receiving Social Security benefits.
• Your unmarried children, younger than age 18
(or up to age 19 if they’re attending elementary or
secondary school full time), may also be able to get
benefits. Your children can get benefits at any age
if they had a disability before age 22. Under certain
circumstances, we can also pay benefits to your
stepchildren, grandchildren, step-grandchildren,
or adopted children.
• Your dependent parents may be able to get benefits if
they’re age 62 or older. For your parents to be eligible
as dependents, you must have provided at least half of
their support.

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Benefits for surviving divorced spouses
If you’ve been divorced, your former spouse age 60 or
older (or between 50 and 59 if they have a disability) can
get benefits, if your marriage lasted at least 10 years.
Your former spouse, however, doesn’t have to meet the
age or length-of-marriage rule if they care for your child
who is younger than age 16 or who has a disability, and
entitled on your record. The child must be yours and your
former spouse’s natural or legally adopted child.
Benefits paid to you as a surviving divorced spouse won’t
affect the benefit amounts for other survivors getting
benefits on the worker’s record. If you’re the surviving
divorced parent, with the worker’s child under age 16 or
with a disability in your care, your benefit can affect the
benefits of others on the record.
One-time Lump-Sum Death Payment
If you’ve worked long enough, we make a one-time
payment of $255 when you die. We can only pay this
benefit to your spouse or child if they meet certain
requirements. Survivors must apply for this payment
within 2 years of the date of death.
How much are benefits?
How much your family can get depends on your average
lifetime earnings. The more you earned, the greater their
benefits will be.
Check your Social Security Statement (Statement) to
see an estimate of survivors benefits we could pay. It
also shows an estimate of your retirement and disability
benefits and provides other important information. Create
a personal my Social Security account online to review
your Statement.

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Online my Social Security account
You can now easily set up a personal my Social Security
account. This allows you to access your Statement to
check your earnings and get your benefit estimates. You
can also use your personal my Social Security account to
request a replacement Social Security number (SSN) card
(available in some states and the District of Columbia).
If you receive Social Security benefits, you can also:
• Get your benefit verification letter.
• Change your address and phone number.
• Request a replacement Medicare card.
• Get a replacement SSA-1099 or SSA-1042S for tax
season.
• Start or change your direct deposit.
To create a personal my Social Security account,
you must be at least 18 years old, have an SSN,
and a valid email address. To create an account, go
to www.ssa.gov/myaccount.
If you are a new my Social Security customer, you will
need to create a credential with one of our two credential
service providers, Login.gov or ID.me or sign in with your
existing Login.gov or ID.me account. If you don’t have
an account, select the “Create an Account with Login.
gov” link to start this one-time registration process. If you
create a credential with Login.gov, you may still need to
provide some additional personal information to verify
your identity.

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When a relative dies...what you need
to know about survivors benefits
How do I apply for benefits?
If you’re not currently getting Social
Security benefits
Apply for survivors benefits promptly because, for some
claims, we’ll pay benefits from the time you apply and not
from the time the worker died.
You can apply by telephone or at any Social Security
office. We’ll need certain information, but don’t delay
applying if you don’t have everything. We’ll help you get
what you need. We need either original documents or
copies certified by the agency that issued them.
The information we need includes:
• Proof of death — either from a funeral home or a death
certificate.
• Your SSN, and the deceased worker’s SSN.
• Your birth certificate.
• Your marriage certificate if you’re a surviving spouse.
• Your divorce papers if you’re applying as a surviving
divorced spouse.
• Dependent children’s SSNs, if available, and birth
certificates.
• Deceased worker’s W-2 forms or federal
self-employment tax return for the most recent year.
• The name of your bank and your account number
so your benefits can be deposited directly into your
account.

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If you’re already getting Social Security benefits
If you’re getting benefits as a spouse based on your
spouse’s work, we’ll change your payments to survivors
benefits when you report the death to us. If we need more
information, we’ll contact you.
If you’re getting benefits based on your own work, call
or visit us. We’ll check to see if you can get more money
as a surviving spouse. If so, you’ll get a combination
of benefits that equals the higher amount. You must
complete an application to switch to survivors benefits.
We also need to see your spouse’s death certificate.
How much will I receive?
We base the benefit amount on the earnings of the person
who died. The more the worker paid into Social Security,
the greater your benefits will be.
We use the deceased worker’s basic benefit amount
to calculate the percentage survivors can get. The
percentage depends on the survivor’s age and relationship
to the worker. If the worker who died was getting reduced
benefits, we’ll base your survivor’s benefit on that amount.
In most typical claims for benefits a:
• Surviving spouse, at full retirement age or older, generally
gets 100% of the worker’s basic benefit amount.
• Surviving spouse, age 60 or older, but under full
retirement age, gets between 71% and 99% of the
worker’s basic benefit amount.
• Surviving spouse, any age, with a child younger than
age 16, gets 75% of the worker’s benefit amount.
• Child gets 75% of the worker’s benefit amount.
Maximum family benefits
There’s a limit to the benefits we can pay to you and other
family members each month. The limit varies between
150% and 180% of the deceased worker’s benefit amount.
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Pensions from work not covered by
Social Security
If you get a pension from work for which you paid Social
Security taxes, that pension won’t affect your Social
Security benefits. However, if you get a retirement or
disability pension from work not covered by Social
Security, we may reduce your Social Security benefit.
Work not covered by Social Security may include the
federal civil service, some state or local government
employment, or work in a foreign country.
For more information, read Government Pension Offset
(Publication No. 05-10007) for government workers
who may be eligible for Social Security benefits on the
earnings record of a spouse. Read Windfall Elimination
Provision (Publication No. 05-10045) for people who
worked in another country, or government workers who
are also eligible for their own Social Security benefits.
What if I work?
If you work while getting Social Security survivors benefits
and are younger than full retirement age, we may reduce
your benefits if your earnings exceed certain limits. The
full retirement age for survivors is 66 for people born
between 1945 and 1956. The full retirement age will
gradually increase to age 67 for people born in 1962 or
later. To find out what the earnings limits are this year
and how earnings above those limits reduce your Social
Security benefits, read How Work Affects Your Benefits
(Publication No. 05-10069).
There’s no earnings limit beginning with the month you
reach full retirement age.
Also, your earnings will reduce only your benefits, not the
benefits of other family members.

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What if I remarry?
Usually, you can’t get surviving spouse’s benefits if you
remarry before age 60 (or age 50 if you have a disability).
But remarriage after age 60 (or age 50 if you have a
disability) won’t prevent you from getting benefit payments
based on your former spouse’s work. And at age 62 or
older, you can get benefits on your new spouse’s work, if
those benefits would be higher.
Right to appeal
If you disagree with a decision made on your claim, you
can appeal it. For an explanation of the steps you can
take, read Your Right To Question The Decision Made On
Your Claim (Publication No. 05-10058).

Contacting Us
There are several ways to contact us, such as online,
by phone, and in person. We’re here to answer your
questions and to serve you. For nearly 90 years, we have
helped secure today and tomorrow by providing benefits
and financial protection for millions of people throughout
their life’s journey.
Visit our website
The most convenient way to conduct business with us is
online at www.ssa.gov. You can accomplish a lot.
• Apply for Extra Help with Medicare prescription drug
plan costs.
• Apply for most types of benefits.
• Start or complete your request for an original or
replacement Social Security card.
• Find copies of our publications.
• Get answers to frequently asked questions.

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When you create a personal my Social Security account,
you can do even more.
• Review your Statement.
• Verify your earnings.
• Get estimates of future benefits.
• Print a benefit verification letter.
• Change your direct deposit information (Social Security
beneficiaries only).
• Get a replacement SSA-1099/1042S.
Call us
If you cannot use our online services, we can help you by
phone when you call our National toll-free 800 Number.
We provide free interpreter services upon request.
You can call us at 1-800-772-1213 — or at our TTY
number, 1-800-325-0778, if you’re deaf or hard of hearing
— between 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday. For quicker access to a representative, try calling
early in the day (between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. local time)
or later in the day. We are less busy later in the week
(Wednesday to Friday) and later in the month. We
also offer many automated telephone services, available
24 hours a day, so you may not need to speak with a
representative.
If you have documents we need to see, they must be
original or copies that are certified by the issuing agency.

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 Social Security Administration
Publication No. 05-10084
January 2024 (Recycle prior editions)
Survivors Benefits
Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense